Be of one mind – The only way this can be accomplished is for each of us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are all called to know the mind of Christ. It is only by having our minds renewed by the Word of God. When we are committed to allowing our thoughts to be changed by God’s Word, we can be of one mind. Having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous – We are to care about the troubles and difficulties that others are experiencing, even when they result from their own bad choices. We have all made wrong choices and have experienced the consequences of those choices. The Lord chastens those He loves. Not returning evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing – When others speak evil of us because of our relationship with the Lord we are to return good for the evil that was spoken against us. When we return good instead responding in like fashion, God says we will inherit a blessing. Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit– The restraining of the tongue results from our relationship with the Lord and our commitment to speak the truth in love and to not return evil for evil. Life would be much more pleasant if we would do these things, not because nothing bad happens to us, but because whatever happens we choose to rejoice in the Lord and give thanks in everything. If we love Him, He is working all things together for our good. This is a Test! The above is a repeat of the last devotional posted here. We have been learning that God is good and always brings into our thoughts and into our circumstances what He knows will be exactly what we need to bring glory to His name. If we trust In Him with all our heart and do not lean on our own understanding, He will direct our paths. Last Sunday night (Dec. 16) we flew out of Kalispell to Dallas to spend time with children, grandchildren and other family members and friends. It was something we had done many times before, not expecting anything unusual to happen. We were with our son and his family and at about 4 pm Monday afternoon we received this text. “Your house is on fire.” Not exactly what you want to read in a text or hear by any other means. Our concern was not for the house, but for a young lady who was house sitting. She worked at night and intended to sleep at our house during the day. Almost immediately after we received the text, we got a phone call. It was her. She was frantic, but alright. She had gotten up and gone home just before the fire started. That was all we needed to hear. We thank God that no one was hurt. We will be in Texas until Jan 4 and will then begin to work on cleaning up the mess. In the meantime, we are getting an opportunity to put into practice what we have been learning. Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV) 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Romans 8:28 (NKJV) 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
If you desire to do further study on your own, we have given you access to a large library of video Bible Studies. There are many different topics available for all age groups. To access the “Right Now Media” website, click on the link below and follow the instructions.