Tag Archives: inspiration

April 3
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“These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): The five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.  They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.”  (Judges 3:1-4, NIV)

In the life of a disciple of Jesus, even one’s enemies are a part of God’s plan.  In today’s scripture reading from the book of Judges, enemies existed to teach the descendants of the Exodus how to defend themselves, and to test their devotion to God. (Please see Judges 2:20-22.)

Today, our biggest threat is not the sword (although physical threats do, indeed, exist); it is, instead, all of the influences and agents that oppose the Spirit of God within us.  Even here we must pray for our enemies as we utilize the weapons of the Spirit, which are: Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God.

So, do not curse your enemies.  Pray for them.  Resist them with the weapons of the Spirit, which alone are adequate for spiritual warfare.  – Luther

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March 27
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“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”   (Psalm 55:22, NKJV)

The key to longevity and stability in a wide variety of aspects (e. g. moral, emotional, spiritual, relational) is the act of casting your cares on the Lord.  The more of our cares we give to Him, the more of His wisdom, confidence, and strength we receive in return.

The times we prefer to coddle our concerns in the privacy of our minds is the precise time we ought to be casting — throwing — those same concerns onto our heavenly Father.  Sharing multiplies our joys and divides our sorrows.

When we choose to keep to ourselves the very concerns that wring all of the joy from life, we deprive ourselves of a Confidant who has never revealed a secret; a Friend who has never betrayed a trust; a Defender who has never been defeated.  – Luther

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November 26
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“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.  Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”  (1 Peter 2:23, NIV)

To be Christian is to be like Christ.

Peter provides two clear, practical, snapshots of what it means to be like Christ: Ignoring insults from the “haters”; and making no threat against the agents of suffering and pain.

According to the scriptures, in his early years as a disciple of Jesus, Peter quickly quickly responded to every insult and engaged every opponent.  Through faithful discipleship, Peter was not the person “now” that he was in those early years.

To grow in maturity as a Christian means to become more and more like Jesus.  A measure of our maturity is the degree to which we are willing to entrust ourselves “to him who judges justly.”  – Luther

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