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We should always do our best to lead a life filled with honesty and
integrity and strive fervently to do the right things even when no one
else is watching. Having and keeping integrity at the center of our
hearts is essential to having a blessed, prosperous and peace filled
life. When the Lord looks upon us and sees that we are acting in a manner
that is pleasing to Him, the Lord will not forget our uprightness and
commitment to doing that which is right in His eyes. There are many
people who follow the wrong path because they see everyone else doing it
without any repercussions and they believe the lie that all will be well
for them in the end. What they fail to realize is that what they do
openly and in secret is known to the Lord and cannot can be hidden from
His eyes. The Lord sees the righteous and the unjust and has promised to
give to each man according to the seeds that they have sown.
(Matthew 6:1-4) (Colossians 3:23-25) (Romans 2:5-11)
We must always remember and keep in mind that our life can be compared to
a fertile garden and whatever seeds we plant into our own life's garden
will grow and bring the harvest to what we planted. Some people like to
call it Karma, but the Bible calls it seedtime and harvest. Whatever we
plant will surely take root, grow and come back to either bless or curse
our life. We must be mindful of our seeds and do our best to plant for a
blessed, bright and beautiful future. We do so by speaking words of
blessing over our own life, by sowing good seeds into our life and the
lives of others and we ensure a prosperous future by being in communion
with the Lord on a continual basis. Nobody wants you to be blessed more
than the Lord and when we become steadfastly determined to live a pleasing
life before Him, we will reap a good harvest for our life.
(Galatians 6:7-8) (Genesis 8:22) (Proverbs 22:8-12)
Be encouraged to think on the meaning of integrity and if you are lacking
in certain areas, I want you to know that it's not too late to begin again.
It's never too late to repent and ask the Lord for forgiveness, for a clean
heart and for new a beginning. The Lord is merciful and gracious more than
we could ever think or imagine and He wishes for us to be one with Him.
When we acknowledge our shortfalls and ask for God's forgiveness, the Lord
will forgive quicker than we can realize. Always remember that God loves
us so much that He willingly died on a cross so that we might be justified
through His sacrifice. The Bible says that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. We don't become righteous and then come to God, we
come to God and He makes us righteous. Call upon Him and share all that
is on your heart. He loves you and wishes for you to walk uprightly
before Him. (Psalm 25:20-21) (Psalm 26:1-3) (Romans 5:8)
I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to always try to do
the right thing because when you do you will reap blessings more than you
can think or imagine.
PAINTED WITH A DIFFERENT BRUSH
One man who loved the color yellow had yellow carpet, yellow furniture,
yellow drapes, yellow walls and even yellow appliances in his yellow
kitchen. He slept in a yellow bed with yellow covers and wore yellow
pajamas. He got sick. You guessed it...yellow jaundice.
He called a doctor who came to his apartment building. The manager told
him he'd have no trouble finding the right one. “You just go down the hall
and come to a yellow door,” he said. “That's the one.”
In a few moments the doctor was back. The apartment manager asked, “Were
you able to help him?”
The doctor replied, “Help him! I couldn't even FIND him!”
I suppose it's not always a good idea to blend too closely with your
surroundings. And that holds true for the way we think and behave, too. We
may not always want to be like everyone else around us. I admire those
people willing to stand out from the crowd.
People like a Miami mother who came to police and spilled out cash and
coins totaling $19.53. Her young son added another 85 cents to the little
pile. It turns out that, after two days, they were the only people to
return money scooped up from an armored truck that toppled on an overpass
and rained more than half a million dollars onto the street below. Police
said that witnesses reported seeing rush-hour commuters loading money into
their cars and driving off while the armored truck employees lay bleeding.
Police had pleaded with residents to return the money, but got nothing but
laughter until a mother and a boy came in.
In a world that seemed to think alike, two people had a different idea.
They refused to blend in with those around them. It was as if they were
painted with a different brush. “I have children and I needed to set a
good example,” said the mother of six, who could have used a little extra
cash to supplement her low retail store wage.
Most people talk about values and what they believe to be right and wrong.
But I've noticed that our REAL values can be seen by the way we live. It
is the things we do and the choices we make that show what we truly believe.
An 11-year-old boy who turned in 85 cents because he felt “it was wrong
for me to keep anything” stood out from the crowd. And a mother who wanted
to teach her children to do the right thing set an example they will never
forget. Like Ruth E. Renkel says, “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his
children the richest inheritances.”
When this Miami mother one day passes away, she will leave her children a
rich inheritance. Maybe not a pile of money, but she will leave them an
example of a life of integrity and self respect, an example of what it is
like to be painted with a different brush. She will leave them something
far more important than wealth.
If her children inherit her values, anything else is just money.
Paint them fortunate.
By Steve Goodier
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Psalm 37:7-9 “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not
thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who
bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret
not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but
those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.”
Psalm 34:11-16 “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the
fear of the LORD. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days,
that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from
speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto
their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off
the remembrance of them from the earth.”
Psalm 37:16-20 “A little that a righteous man hath is better than the
riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the
LORD upholdeth the righteous. The LORD knoweth the days of the upright:
and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the
evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the
wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of
lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.”
Psalm 119:10-16 “With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not
wander from Thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I
might not sin against Thee. Blessed art Thou, O LORD: teach me Thy
statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of Thy mouth. I
have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I
will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways. I will
delight myself in Thy statutes: I will not forget Thy word.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: HE GATHERS EVERY TEAR
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem98.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: TAKING A GOOD LOOK
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony189.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
