Meditation

06/30/2022

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11-Guidance)

The godly person does not depend upon previous learning to keep walking in the way of truth but upon God’s continued guidance. The child of God never graduates from the school of divine instruction; every day is “commencement.” In a personal way the psalmist (and all of us as well) fully trusted God to teach and lead personally.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, You have been our teacher ever since You created us, and continue even today to bring guidance and teachings that benefit us in becoming more like You each day. We thank You for this effort and seek to be within Your will every day. Today we continue to pray troops serving in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, that a peaceful solution might be found and let the fighting be silenced. We also pray for those who are suffering in body, mind, and/or spirit, with friends, family, for those we don’t know. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“There is nothing too small in the service of God.”

KNOWING GOD:

“There in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.” (Deuteronomy 12:7 – Family Worship)

God established a place of worship for the new nation. Normally, the people celebrated their faith through home worship, but on designated holy days they were to go as households to the Temple and worship joyfully together. Worship was a family experience. Shared worship is considered so important to the development of faith that believers are warned against neglecting it. As in biblical times, families today need to know the Word of God by hearing it taught and by worshiping God through family worship in the church. Of course when Jesus came, He taught and preached in synagogues, but also out in the open air, where hundreds and thousands came to listen to Him. The size of the space is not significant, for it is the numbers of people who come to learn more about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, for it is this that matters most of all.

I AM:

“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:8-10 – Committed to Effective Communications)

A person or persons ruled by Christ and led by the Spirit will put away speech patterns reflecting anger and defamation of others’ character. Language which is less than clean and pure in tone and content should not come from a Christian’s mouth. The spiritual work of God in human hearts is the climactic phase of what God began to do in creating the physical universe and bringing life into existence on earth. Salvation changes a person from an old self to a new self. The new self is a self-recreated in the image of God to be as He originally created us. Christ is the model, for He is the image of God. We grow daily to know Christ better and to be more like Him. We know His will and are therefore determined to model ourselves after His.

2ND THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every ‘matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. ” (Matthew 18:15-17 -Family Conflict Resolution )

This passage is not specifically directed toward family conflict, however, it does give principles for handling conflict among family members. Having love and courage enough to confront personally the person with whom differences have developed clarifies the actual content of conflict. Since conflict often results from misunderstanding, this help of counselors or other persons who can assist in reconciliation is often very helpful in resolving conflict, thus restoring relationships.