What are you carrying inside of you?

 

By Gary Andrews

gary@gadevotionals.com

 

            For many years I witnessed a friend that seemed to be bipolar or have a split personality. He never treated me any different in our encounters but, as I am told, his mean antics came mainly toward family members or very close friends.

            This person was very well known and well liked within the community. He had a good job and interacted, most of the time, extremely well with his co-workers. He was a Christian, very skilled, intelligent, dealt with a lot of people, and was excellent at his job.

            I believe there are a lot of people walking our streets that we don’t know what they are mentally holding inside. All of us are this way and once someone crosses our path or bumps into us, we never know what we are going to say or do. It all depends on what our personalities, characters, and demeanors are.

     I read a good example that demonstrates this scenario. If you are walking and carrying a cup of coffee and someone bumps into you, the coffee spills out of the cup. It doesn’t have to be coffee in the cup; it could be any liquid that was in the cup because when it is shaken it will spill out.

     Think about yourself as the cup and someone bumps into you. What is going to spill out of you? What triggers your personality when you become agitated? Is it anger, fear, or jealously that you are carrying within you or is it love, kindness, and peace?

     We need to understand what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5; “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil…” NKJV.

      These are the words that the apostle Paul told to the church of Corinth. These words are for us in today’s lifestyle. Every morning when we go into the world and we get bumped by society, and we do every day, what is going to spill out of us? What are we carrying inside us today?

     If you know Jesus personally and adhere to what He tells us through prayer and through His 

Word, we will be able to face the challenges of the day. 

     My friend is not with us on earth anymore, but the remembrances of his actions still linger with those that knew him. It is my prayer that the remembrances are the one of love, kindness, and dedication and that some of the characteristics he displayed otherwise, was not something he could control.

     Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If not, accept Him onto your heart today and ask Him to guide you in your daily living.

     Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your love and forgiveness. Lead me in what you would have me say and do. Amen.

     (Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Monday – Proverbs 19:8-11; Tuesday – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18; Wednesday – Psalm 37:1-8; Thursday – James 1:19-24; Friday – Isaiah 40:29-31; Saturday – Ephesians 4:31-32.) A671-26   

 There is only one way to heaven

 

By Gary Andrews

gary@gadevotionals.com

 

     Many years ago when I worked in Louisiana I went to church with a lady that was employed as an operating room nurse.

     This lady would share some of the experiences she had in the operating room and there is one that always stuck with me. There was a patient that was on death’s bed and it was a very critical and delicate operation that saved his life.

     As soon as the operation was over she exclaimed to the members of the operating team, “Thank you Jesus for saving this man’s life.”

     The doctor then chimed in and stated, “Jesus had nothing to do with this. It was me that saved this man’s life.”

     She was highly disappointed in what he said and so was the rest of the team.

     There are many people in this world that have the same feelings that this doctor had. These people are so self-serving and nothing but self-gratification pleases them.

     All of these people need to remember that there is one thing they cannot do. They cannot get to heaven through their self-reliance or on any of their own merits. However, it is also hard for them to understand that getting to heaven is a free gift from God. All anyone has to do is confess their sins and ask Jesus to forgive them and come into their heart.

     Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”

     I am afraid that our nation is in trouble because of self-serving individuals. These are the ones speaking up and the Christians are staying silent. It is time for a change, and it is time for all of us, as Christians, speak out and give credit where credit is due. God created all of us and it is from Him that we receive all of our blessings.

     Prayer: Thank you Lord for saving me. I pray that I can be a light for you and share the good news to everyone I am in contact with. Amen.

     (Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday - John 3:3-8; Monday - 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Tuesday - Matthew 16:24-26; Wednesday - Titus 2:11-14; Thursday - Job 35:2-8; Friday - Proverbs 26:12; Saturday - Isaiah 64:6) A078-09