Tag Archives: God’s perspective

May 14
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“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”  (Proverbs 25:20-21, NIV)

What may be regarded by the common person as foolishness is tactical brilliance in the eyes of God.

Today’s scripture is a blueprint for how the Christian disciple is to engage his or her adversary.  The benefit of this counter-intuitive approach is two-fold: (1) It confounds the enemy beyond words and: (2) it assures the positive notice of our heavenly Father.

To act in this way toward our enemies requires faith in God, and courage.  Be neither ashamed nor afraid to stand both firm and fast wherever it is that God has directed.  – Luther

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February 5
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“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”  (Romans 8:22, NIV)

Making sense of the apparent senselessness of many of the things we encounter in life is frustratingly difficult unless we maintain a perspective that is informed by God’s viewpoint.

In today’s passage, Paul states that all of creation is in transition.  If we do not believe that God’s perfect creation was — and is — corrupted by sin, it is frustratingly difficult to account for the dysfunction we see in every aspect of life.

If we do not believe that God’s plan of redemption is at work, both in the past and in the present; and that this plan is moving toward a divinely-ordered end, our frustration will soon become despair.

Do all that you must to maintain God’s point of view, particularly in the difficult spots.  – Luther

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January 23
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“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’  So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.  The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.”  (Exodus 13:17-18, NIV)

Sometimes, God chooses for us the longer path, not because He wants to inconvenience us or to delay our progress, but because of perils unseen, unknown, or unappreciated.  In the case of the Israelites, they “went up out of Egypt ready for battle,” but they were in no way ready to take-on the mighty Philistines.

So, do not fret the fact that the path to your desired goal may be lengthened; or the fact that your many preparations may go untapped.  However, be sure of your relationship with your heavenly Father and always trust in His all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful nature.  These qualities benefit us when we walk with God.  – Luther

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