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Proverbs 16:3

The beginning of a good way is to do righteous things,
And this is more acceptable to God than to offer sacrifices.

Personal Challenge

Galatians 3:26-27

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Encouraging Words

What a wonderful statement of who we are after we have been baptized into Christ. We have put on Christ. We have taken off our old garments of the sinful nature and its resulting death and replaced them with garment of Christ, Himself, making us sons and daughters of God. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 16:1

All the works of the humble are evident before the Lord,
But the ungodly will be destroyed in the evil day.

Personal Challenge

A consistent message throughout the entire scripture is that God desires that we live our life with a humble heart. Through humility we can love the Lord our God with our heart, soul, and spirit. Through humility we can love out neighbor as ourselves. By being humble we can serve God in ways that glorify Him and build His kingdom. Do we really want our works to be evident before our God? Then we must do them in humility. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Personal Challenge

As a follower of Christ, we can proclaim this along with Paul. Our sinful, passion driven self was crucified with Christ when we were baptized into His body and chrismated by the oil of the Holy Spirit. It is up to us, and our free will, to stop reclaiming those crucified aspects of our lives. We can choose to live by faith in the Son of God and live sinless lives. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 15:32-33 (15:37-38)

He who rejects instruction hates himself,
But he who gives heed to reproofs loves his soul.
The fear of God is instruction and wisdom,
And the beginning of glory will respond to it.

Personal Challenge

One of the challenges of being the independent pioneers that we are, is that we begin to believe that we can make it on our own. We act as if nothing outside of us is needed because we are self-sufficient and self-directed. The problem with this mindset is that we evolve to a point where we do not accept instruction or reproof any longer. God provides instruction and reproof to us so that we can learn to shed our temporal ways and embrace His spiritual ways. Only through submitting to His will we truly see the full manifestation of His blessings in our lives. Glory be to God!

Galatians 1:10

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Personal Challenge

Proverbs 15:1

Wrath destroys even men of discernment;
But a humble answer turns away anger,
And a grievous word stirs up wrath.

Personal Challenge

Our response to what goes on in our lives makes a world of difference in both our lives and the lives of those around us. If we respond in wrath, we become destructive, even to those who might be discerning. If we have a grievous response, all we do is stir up wrath in those around us. The proper response in all cases is a humble answer, which turns away anger and lifts up others. Glory be to God!

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Personal challenge

We live in a country, and a culture, that prides itself on self-sufficiency. Many of us have ancestors that were pioneers and helped expand and settle this land. We are taught that we can do anything that we set our minds to. Even though all of this is true, as followers of Christ, we must recognize that our self-sufficiency is worthless in the kingdom of heaven. It is our weaknesses that we should boast about because it is through those weaknesses the Jesus is glorified. He is glorified when He is allowed to use those weaknesses to build His kingdom. He is magnified when He uses our weaknesses to spread His gospel. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 14:30 (14:31)

A man with a gentle spirit is a healer of the heart,
But a sensual heart is the moth of the bones.

Personal Challenge

What does it mean to have a sensual heart? It means a heart that desires and pursues the pleasures of the senses or passions. First thought might be to point the finger at sexual pleasures, but it goes far beyond that. Seeking power comes from a sensual heart especially when you will do anything to get and keep that power. Greed, idolatry, possessiveness, lying, cheating, stealing, and anything else the puts me, and my desires above God and my neighbor, all come from a sensual heart. This heart will condemn us to a life of decay and death. On the contrary, a gentle spirit, a true humility, will create within us, and around us, a heart that is both healed and healing. The consequences are obvious, the choice is the ongoing challenge every moment of every day. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!