Devotional January 4, 2009
(Philippians 4: 4-7) says, "
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! Let your gentleness be
known to all men. The Lord is at hand. be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be
made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
I do not know about you, but I
have had to be deliver from attitude problems during my life. In others
words, I have gone and continue to go through daily sanctification.
One of the worst, was my Cajun
temper. See I just cannot stand the actions of judgmental people. I also have
a problem with lazy people, and people who are jealous of others, and people
who procrastinate. And mostly people who call themselves Christians and act
like the devil. See, I still have things God needs to work on in me.
In the past few weeks I have had
Satan try to temp me with anger toward people who take advantage me and of
other people and cause problems in their lives, and act like some of the
statement I made above. But see when God delivered me from my temper, I made
a promise that I would always think of others and not lose my temper.
Now I want to tell you, that I do
speak my mind and do not let people run over me anymore. I almost became two
easy and let people run over me. I kept things in including my opinions
bottled up inside of me, because I did not want to lose my temper. But after
my colon ruptured, Jesus and I had a long talk and He let me know that I did
not have to be a Christian wimp or a doormat. That I could share my thoughts
and feelings without being rude. So now I do share those things, but to
scream at the top of my lungs I do not do.
Now yes, I do feel anger at times,
and my voice may get low and stern, just as Jesus did in the temple, when He
cast the merchants out, for defiling the temple. And I do get mad, but I do
not scream and hollow, and make a scene, because I did make a promise to God
and myself that I would not do that anymore.
But do you know what? I
never had to work at keeping that promise. Jesus supernaturally delivered me
from my temper. He rehabilitated me the minute, I ask Him to take my temper
away.
Now, how could I
hurt Jesus by going back on my promise? I couldn't! My loyalty to Jesus is
just too strong to let some hell-bent flesh ruin what He has done for me! It
is loyalty that makes me say no to temptation, when I would really like to lay
hands on someone, not in the prayful way.
How about you? Do
you feel that your loyalty to Jesus is so strong that it anchors you down when
the winds of temptation blow? Do you feel in your heart that you are a person
of principle, willing to resist temptation in order to please God?
See, I one day want
to go through Heaven Gates and see my Savior face to face. And I now have even
more reason to make my way to my Heavenly home, because my Daddy and Mama are
there, also waiting to see me again. So, why would I want miss Heaven by
living a sinful life.
If you are the least
bit unsure, take time to pray and ask God to help you out. Ask Him to renew
your spirit by His word and to help you be faithful person who is
uncompromisingly loyal to His word. He'll do it! God Loves you! He cares
about your life, no matter what is going on. I know God can change you, just
like He changed me from flying off the handle.
No, God's not
finished with me yet. I'm still growing and learning, even though I'm a
preacher. God's still working on me. Day by day, I just live my life and
read my Bible and talk to Jesus. He's my friend, a part of my everyday life.
That's what I hope
Jesus will become for you, a friend who is part of your everyday life. That's
the beauty of a personal relationship with God. It can get you through all of
life's crazy challenges and turn
you into something better than you ever thought you could be. It can help you
to be the person of principle who has fun living life too!
Blessings, Love and
Prayers,
Pastor Pat
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