Tuesday... There is within us a desire to please.

And it can be a very good thing or not. And it is amazing what we will do to please, isn't it?

Now it is really discouraging when it seems that we can't please someone we want to please. Some have done all they can all their life to please a father and mother and they can't? And they feel like a failure.

Now Paul in his letter to the Romans deals with the matter of pleasing God. He says there is this sinful nature within each of us. We were born with it. And in Romans 8:7-8 (NLT) he says, "For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are under the control of their sinful nature can never please God."

There are many who could say, "I can't please my parents and I can't please God. I am a failure." And it may be true that you may not be able to please your parents but it usually is not your fault. Oh it could be because we were a mess and never listened to them but it could also be something within them. They too could have felt that they couldn't please anybody themselves and they carried it over to you. And we can feel so condemned.

Verses 1-2 says, "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ. And because you belong to him. the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death."

John 3:16-18 (NIV) says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

Now Romans 8:5-6 says, "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace."

Verse 5b in the Amplified Bible says, "but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit." Get your mind off of thinking about sinful things and thinking about things that please the Spirit. "letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace."

Yes God has placed within us a desire to please Him. And we can. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

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Wednesday... It didn't just happen.

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Tuesday... Each one of us see and describe what we are going through differently but...

Tuesday... Each one of us see and describe what we are going through differently but... We each one have our own way of explaining what we are going through, don't we? Some of us are maximisers, other are minimizers and neither one is better. We each one are different and we see what we are facing differently but no matter what it is and how you see it and describe it, God can handle it! Now the writer of Psalm 46 shows the extremes. In verse 1 he states the basic reality and then he moves on into our fears and he maximizes them to make sure we really understand. Here is what Psalm 46:1-3 (NLT) says, "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!" So what do you fear? The Amplified Bible says verse 1 this way, "God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable], a very presen...

Todays Beginning

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