Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Luke 15:8-10
Do we put as much time and effort in seeking lost souls as we do in temporal things? What we give our time and effort to reflects what is important to us. Are we joining the crowd, rejoicing over lost souls found? Or are we indifferent, our eyes clouded by focusing on temporal things?
Our eyes sometimes focus on whether we have “much” or “little” compared to others—in gifts, talents, possessions, or responsibilities. What if we spent as much time focusing our thoughts and energy on being faithful?
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. Luke 17:3-4
We like to make excuses for our behavior with, “Well, if they weren’t like that, I wouldn’t be like this.” Take heed to yourselves. “If they only did this, my life would be easier.” Take heed to yourselves. “This is the tenth time they say they’re sorry for the same thing. I’ll believe it when I see changes.” Take heed to yourselves.
We are responsible only for the actions and attitudes of one person: ourselves. As long as we’re looking at the shortcomings and failures of another, we are not taking heed to ourselves.
We are responsible only for the actions and attitudes of one person: ourselves. As long as we’re looking at the shortcomings and failures of another, we are not taking heed to ourselves.
When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall...The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. Proverbs 29:16, 25
No matter what goes on around us, we have certainty in God and His plans. Are we allowing temporal things to shake our trust?
Share a verse that recently really stood out to you.
2 comments:
Matthew 5:27-28. Funny, since these verses are talking to men, but it really got my attention. We should be so careful in how we dress and carry ourselves. Though we can't control the minds of others, we can make sure we're not doing anything on our end to cause them to stray. Think about it, dressing to get a man's attention can be the same as hoping he is sinning in his heart! We must be so careful to keep our eyes on Jesus and what He wants for our lives!
@ Ryana - very good thoughts there. Thanks for sharing!
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