THURSDAY JUNE 25, 2020
TOPIC: MIND YOUR WORDS
TEXT:JOB 15:1-16
KEY VERSE: "Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee" (JOB 15:6).
Words have the capacity to either build or destroy lives, families or relationships. Job's friends came with the initial objective of consoling him for all his seemingly inexplicable troubles. But soon, they became part of the problem. Rather than comfort him, they took turns to condemn Job for what they assumed must have been his sinful conducts. He explained his conditions and defended himself to no avail.
Eliphaz alleged that Job's vain knowledge and lack of fear of God were the reason God did not answer his prayers. He boasted that he and his companions were wiser and some older than even Job's father. He stripped Job of all claims to righteousness, insisting that no man can be clean before God.
You must not speak like Job's friends. Do not jump to conclusions easily and assume that you always know why people suffer and invariably, that you alone have the answers to their troubles.
When faced with a challenging situation in the lives of other people, keep your words few. Your presence alone is more than enough comfort. And when you speak, let your words be full of grace and seasoned with salt, so that you may assuage the pain and anguish of spirit of the person that hears you.
Always seek to show concern with your words, not criticism; and to give comfort, not condemnation. Let the person you are speaking to feel better after listening to your words.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Find an appropriate word for every occasion.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 KINGS 13-14
HIGHER EVERYDAY
THURSDAY JUNE 25, 2020
TOPIC: MAN IN THREE DIMENSIONS
TEXT:GENESIS 2:4-8
MEMORY VERSE: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (GENESIS 2:7).
From time immemorial, when He created man and placed him in a "material" world, God's great desire was to have communion and fellowship with him. That creation of man came in three dimensions - body, spirit and soul.
The body was meant to make communication with both the spiritual and the temporal worlds possible. He also created man with a spirit dimension (breathe of life) to enable man communicate with Him and be linked to His spiritual, eternal, and heavenly world. The third dimension of man called "soul" is the union of the spirit and body at creation.
You must, therefore, know that you are a special creation of God, whom He delicately formed out of the earth, breathing into your body the breath of life and equipping you with five senses.
God expects you to make your body the home of His Spirit, so that you will be able to have fellowship with Him, love and worship Him. Let the spirit in you be God's dwelling place, your soul the dwelling place of your conscience; and your body, the dwelling place of your senses.
QUOTE: You are a special creation of God.
CHALLENGE: We are uniquely made: body, soul and spirit.
PRAYER: Dear God, make me your dwelling place, in Jesus' name.