We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
~ James 3:2 (NIV)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm glad that James is real and honest, rather than pretentious and holier-than-thou. It helps us realize we're all in this same boat in life, struggling to fight the spiritual battles within us.
I don't know what you're struggling with, but you do. And God does, too. Be real with yourself and with God. Don't try to put on false pretenses, like everything's fine and you have your act together. It's when we can look our struggles in the face and admit they are a part of us that we can look God in the face and see His love in spite of them. That is when we can really grasp the amazing grace of God.
I hope you can lay aside whatever pride you may have about the personal struggles you face, and honestly come to God with all that you have. Let God show you the depth of His awesome love for all who turn to Him with an honest heart.
Love,
Joelene
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Verse of the Day - Ecclesiastes 10:18
If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.
~ Ecclesiastes 10:18 (NIV)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of this life is built around maintenance. It seems like everything needs maintenance or it goes into disrepair. I guess that's because we live in a world of decay, stricken with death and dying since the fall of man.
I work in the medical equipment maintenance field, and it's often necessary for devices to be preventively maintained so that you don't have unscheduled repairs. For example, one device may need their o-rings replaced every six months, simply because these parts wear out over a period of time and will cause a failure if they're not replaced. If there is no system in place to maintain it routinely, you run the risk of a failure on a patient.
Today's verse uses our homes as an example of the decaying world we live in, and our need for vigilance in maintaining them. Home Depot and Lowe's stay in business because of the maintenance required in our homes due to decay. (Oh, okay, let's just admit it -- they stay in business because men like to build things....LOL :-) If we aren't vigilant to repair/replace things that wear out or decay, like roofs and fences, we leave ourselves open to damage during the winter months. We simply can't dupe ourselves into thinking that things in our home will last forever without us getting off our duff to do something about it, because they just don't.
We seek many conveniences in this world that make life easier, but can assist us in being lazy. We have a remote control for our TV, a microwave for our meals, automatic sprinklers for our lawns, answering machines/voicemail for our phones -- all allowing us to sit on the couch and veg our lives away. Automation and streamlining our lives can be a very good thing, but we need to be careful that we don't get lulled into laziness in the process. Don't be fooled into thinking that decay is a thing of the past. It still causes havoc all around us, and we need to pro-actively work to repair and rectify those areas we're responsible for -- our bodies, our homes, our environment.
Gee, after today's message, I guess I have no excuse for not cleaning the cobwebs on the outside of my house that the friendly neighborhood spiders have so generously spun, huh? :-)
...."Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go...."
(today's message sponsored by The Seven Dwarfs -- :-)
Love,
Joelene
~ Ecclesiastes 10:18 (NIV)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most of this life is built around maintenance. It seems like everything needs maintenance or it goes into disrepair. I guess that's because we live in a world of decay, stricken with death and dying since the fall of man.
I work in the medical equipment maintenance field, and it's often necessary for devices to be preventively maintained so that you don't have unscheduled repairs. For example, one device may need their o-rings replaced every six months, simply because these parts wear out over a period of time and will cause a failure if they're not replaced. If there is no system in place to maintain it routinely, you run the risk of a failure on a patient.
Today's verse uses our homes as an example of the decaying world we live in, and our need for vigilance in maintaining them. Home Depot and Lowe's stay in business because of the maintenance required in our homes due to decay. (Oh, okay, let's just admit it -- they stay in business because men like to build things....LOL :-) If we aren't vigilant to repair/replace things that wear out or decay, like roofs and fences, we leave ourselves open to damage during the winter months. We simply can't dupe ourselves into thinking that things in our home will last forever without us getting off our duff to do something about it, because they just don't.
We seek many conveniences in this world that make life easier, but can assist us in being lazy. We have a remote control for our TV, a microwave for our meals, automatic sprinklers for our lawns, answering machines/voicemail for our phones -- all allowing us to sit on the couch and veg our lives away. Automation and streamlining our lives can be a very good thing, but we need to be careful that we don't get lulled into laziness in the process. Don't be fooled into thinking that decay is a thing of the past. It still causes havoc all around us, and we need to pro-actively work to repair and rectify those areas we're responsible for -- our bodies, our homes, our environment.
Gee, after today's message, I guess I have no excuse for not cleaning the cobwebs on the outside of my house that the friendly neighborhood spiders have so generously spun, huh? :-)
...."Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go...."
(today's message sponsored by The Seven Dwarfs -- :-)
Love,
Joelene
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