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The one thing that we should hold on to tighter than anything else is our
integrity. Our integrity is vital to keeping our life blessed, prosperous
and in tune with the will of God. When we hold onto our integrity we will
keep our word no matter the circumstance and no matter the consequence.
We will be true to ourselves no matter what everyone else is doing or
saying. We will be respected by our peers because we held true to what we
believed was right and because we did not compromise, the Lord will bless
our life for not wavering or giving in. Knowing to do that which is right
even when everyone else around us is doing wrong elevates our life to
greater heights in the eyes of the Lord because He sees the integrity of
our hearts and He will reward us for being upright in a deceptive and
perverse generation. (Proverbs 11:3-5) (Philippians 2:14-15)
Let us separate ourselves from the pack and lead a life filled with
righteousness, integrity, honor and uprightness of heart before God
Almighty. Let us make God proud of how we lead our life so that we may be
given the privilege of being used to bring glory and honor to His Name.
When we forsake all vanity and realize how fleeting life is, we will be
quick to follow after God and His will for our life. The Lord is the One
that we must strive to please. Fulfilling His will is all we should aim
to do. Giving our life to the Lord and leading it in an upright manner
glorifies His Name and shows all people whom we belong to.
(Proverbs 20:7) (Psalm 41:11-12)
Be encouraged to see how important integrity really is. Hold fast to what
you know is true and do not waiver from it. Do not allow the tempter to
make you lose focus, but rather hold fast to the leading hand of the Lord
and ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you onto the best path as He
sees fit. The Lord will be faithful to hear and answer every heartfelt
prayer and He will lead us onto the path of righteousness for His Name's
sake. (Proverbs 19:1)
I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to do that which is
right at all times and know that God will be faithful to reward you for
standing in integrity.
FOLLOW YOUR STARS
“Learn to say no,” said Charles Spurgeon. “It will be of more use to you
than to be able to read Latin.”
One educator used to say that no society can last long unless it has a
quorum of “unpurchasable people.” These are people of principle who cannot
be bought; people who have learned to say no. I believe that these
so-called unpurchasable people are the truly contented and fulfilled souls
around us.
In Whitney Seymour's book Making A Difference, Arthur McArthur, General
Douglas McArthur's father, told his son of such an unpurchasable man. This
man was a Union general in charge of the occupied territory surrounding
New Orleans toward the end of the American Civil War. He was pressed by
local plantation owners to permit them to haul their cotton to the wharves
in order for it to be sold for shipment to England. The general controlled
all the wagons and horses, and his orders from high command in Washington
were clear. He was not to let the cotton crop get to market.
Then one day, when Colonel Arthur MacArthur was visiting the general, two
Southern ladies were ushered into the general's office, a “grande dame”
and a beautiful young companion. The older lady came right to the point.
She said that the landowners needed the temporary use of transport
facilities to move their cotton. The North did not wish to force England
into the war, she argued, and was allowing some merchant ships to slip
through the blockade. Therefore, the Union would not be opposed to the
sale of cotton for English textile mills. To show her gratitude she handed
over $250,000 in gold certificates. “And if you need other inducements,
this young lady will supply them,” she added. They departed, leaving behind
a very distressed general holding the beautiful young woman's address.
The general immediately ordered MacArthur to dispatch this message to
Washington: “To The President Of The United States: I have just been
offered two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and the most beautiful
woman I have ever seen to betray my trust. I am depositing the money with
the Treasury of the United States, and request immediate relief from this
command. They are getting close to my price.”
Many others may have fallen for the seductive offer. And though his
decision was no doubt difficult to make, how much harder might his life
have eventually become had he chosen wrong? Saying yes to contentment and
peace often begins with saying no. For ultimately happy lives are guided
by unwavering principles, such as honesty, trust and love. Those who keep
sight of their principles and use them as a guide in all their decision-
making will eventually arrive at a place of lasting peace.
“Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your
hands,” says Carl Schurz. “But like the (seafarers) on the desert of
waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach
your destiny.”
By Steve Goodier
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Psalm 25:20 “O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I
put my trust in Thee. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I
wait on Thee.”
Psalm 26:1-5 “Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I
have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O
LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For Thy lovingkindness is
before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth. I have not sat with
vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the
congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.”
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 |
