Romans 12:17-18,21 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
One minister tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. "I do not only want to get rid of him, but I also want to get even! Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has hurt me!"
The minister suggested an ingenious plan, "Why don't you go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him. Make him believe you love him. Then -- after you've convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, drop the bomb. Tell him you want a divorce. That will really hurt him.
With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful! Boy, will he ever be devastated!" And she did it with enthusiasm. For two months she showed love and kindness, she listened, served, and reinforced. When she didn't return to his office, the minister called. "So are you ready now to go through with the divorce?" "Divorce?" she exclaimed. "Never! I discovered that I really do love him."
This woman's actions changed her feelings. Whether it's a tough relationship, a long-time fear, or a task that seems too big for us to accomplish, sometimes we need to act in faith in order to see it conquered for the Kingdom!
Whatever it may be, let's give it to the Lord today and ask Him to motivate us to go forth with strength and passion -- for His sake!
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]“Break up your fallow ground.” In this context, the Lord is referring to breaking up the ground overrun with weeds and thorns creating a hardness to produce righteous fruit.
This passage in Isaiah contains a poetic play on words which is lost to any reader but one who understands Hebrew. A word for word translation runs something like this: “If not you will believe (lo ta-aminoo), surely not you will be established (lo te-amenoo).” The three letter Hebrew root – “aleph”- “mem”- “nun”, is the same in both words, and the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah is clearly playing on this root to emphasize His point. The same root letters are also used in the spelling for the familiar word “Amen” which literally means “truthfully”.
Momentum is simply the force or speed of movement that carries an object to its final destination. If you want to break through, you need to have a certain amount of momentum. In order for a rocket to blast into space, it needs tremendous momentum to break the gravitational barrier – but with the enormous power of jet engines and rocket fuel the ship is propelled faster and faster till it breaks free of the earth’s gravitational pull.
As we press in closer to the Lord and His calling on our lives, the enemy becomes more and more fierce, throwing all kinds of darts of fear and doubt our way. But as beloved children of God, we can trust the Lord to defend us! God has an invisible army all around, ready to protect us in our times of need. When the battle intensifies, when the enemy seems to be attacking from every side, when it seems all too great for our eyes, know that the Lord has placed His protection all around you! We may not see it — but we must walk by faith!
When the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, he was speaking to a church that was surrounded with sexual immorality. The city of Corinth was a haven of hedonism where many temples hosted hundreds of prostitutes which were visited by vast multitudes of foreigners. In the ancient world, the term “Corinthianize” indicated a life of sexual promiscuity.
You know how sometimes we get a phone call from someone who didn’t intend to dial us? And what do we usually say? Sorry, you have the wrong number.
This one of several theophanies found in the Old Testament of the “preincarnate” Yeshua (Jesus). In this story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three men refused to bow and worship another God besides the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. While they knew that God was able to deliver them, they also knew that He might choose not to do so–and whether He delivered them or not had no influence on their loyalty to Him. These three faithful Hebrews were convinced that idolatry was a non-starter for them, no matter what! Their unquestionable loyalty brought wrath upon their heads. Nebuchadnezzar’s violent rage moved him to increase the furnace fires seven times!