And All That is Within Me

David, the shepherd, King, and songwriter, expressed how to face each day: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). The word “bless” means to bow down. In adoration before God, with all within you, bend your mind, will, and emotions to Him, acknowledge Him, and praise His name. He adds to remember all God’s benefits, His acts of goodness and reward. Through the remainder of the chapter, David named some of the blessings God lavishes on His children: forgiveness, healing, redemption from death, lovingkindness, slow to anger, mercy, God’s righteousness, fairness, and longsuffering. How gracious is our Father toward us who are unworthy except for the most significant expression of His love towards humanity, the gift of His only Son, Jesus, and His cleansing blood! Thank You, Lord God. We exalt You and bow our hearts before You—we bless Your holy name.

Disgraced or Honored

Pride is one of the sins the Lord hates, listed as one of seven identified abominations (Proverbs 6:16–19). If you are unsuccessful in learning about something, you can keep trying until you do or ask for guidance. But asking for help means you must set your pride aside and decide whether to receive or reject the information given (Proverbs 26:12). Pride will keep you from looking for God, knowing Him, or understanding His Word (Psalm 10:4). It precedes destruction (Proverbs 16:18). Those who think too highly of themselves will go down by God’s hand (or repentance—calling on Him for forgiveness), but God exalts those who humble themselves: “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit” (Proverbs 29:23). Humility is the honor of one’s proper attitude.

Change is a Choice

Change needs to happen, and you’ve convinced yourself to start next year being a “better you.” But life distractions often reroute the best intentions when waiting for a better time to act on matters that need immediate attention. Whether an obstacle knocked you off track or you chose to follow your stubborn way, your heartache, frustration, and disappointment have not escaped God’s attention.

Paul writes to those having learned God’s truth and what we must do: “Put off concerning the former conversation, the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the Spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24). For genuine lasting change, you and I must choose to take off our old sinful self and corrupt way of living and let His Spirit change how we think and act. Only then can we put on the “new self “ created in God’s likeness, righteous and holy. Why wait until next year for a new you?

Bandage On, Bandage Off

Children think unwrapping a bandage and putting it on the “bobo” will make it feel better, but it’s only a cover-up. They quickly learn that the antiseptic needed to ward off infection will sting, and so will pulling off the bandage, but it’s for their best. Sometimes we must do what hurts to make a situation better. So will our Father.

Because God loves us, He disciplines those who stray from the path of right living: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11). The discipline will not bring joy and is often painful because a quick-fix bandage or enabler won’t correct life’s wrongs. Genuine change happens only when the wanderer bends to what God knows is best, but for those who refuse to heed His chastening, a repeat training session awaits. 

Healing, restoration, and fruit-bearing come to them who receive God’s Truth, though it may sting, and let it cleanse. Benefited by the exercise, though the fruit may take a while to ripen, the trainees will be right before God and more confident in Him—evidence of a life changed through discipline. 

Seize the Moment

Once you belong to Jesus, no one and nothing can separate you, but that is not a reason to live as you wish or think you stand so solidly that you are immovable and untouchable. Times of discouragement, doubt, pride, and rebellious living can distance you, falling prey to your way and the enemy’s attacks. When that happens, you may resemble a depleted branch on The Vine, but don’t believe the lies that whisper you are on the verge of breaking off. You will not; nothing can sever you from God—but life’s distractions and disobedience can cause a broken spirit; sometimes, we need spiritual tweaking. While we may not know what tomorrow holds, we do know Whose hands have every tomorrow.

God is with His children for all eternity. But without Jesus, because you rejected Him, you will die one day and spend eternity separated from the Father who loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you (John 3:16). Invite the Savior into your life; now is the time, today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). You’re not guaranteed another moment: “Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

Faith Steps

The Highest is a God of miracles, but the impossible sometimes tests our faith. God told Joshua He would make way for passage across the Jordan River, but it wouldn’t be an ordinary trek: “The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall” (Joshua 3:13 NLT). The priests bearing the Ark of the Lord had to trust God to roll the water back, hold it in place, leaving a dry riverbed to walk across. Then their feet had to step into the water. When they did, God kept His word.

We serve the same God today; faith and obedience are still the keys to victory. When He says, “Take a step, He will keep you from drowning or falling; or says, “Your faith has made you whole,” believe He healed you. When you ask God to forgive your sins and invite Jesus into your life, He saves you—forever. Unafraid you can trust Him—He will carry you safely over or through every challenge you face. 

Following the Scent

The sweet-smelling fragrance of Christ permeates the air as believers surrender to God’s service, tell what He has done, and live it out. But the scent we carry is perceived differently: “To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” (2 Corinthians 2:16 NLT). 

People choose to receive God’s life-giving news and become His child or find it offensive—the odor of death to the life they want to keep—choosing to reject God and His Son. By doing so, instead of everlasting life with God, they receive God’s condemnation and eternal separation from Him. Though we should never sugarcoat God’s Word, we must not only obediently but accurately present it in a way pleasing to the Lord. Each hearer decides whether God’s message and its bearers are the smell of “death and doom” or a “life-giving perfume”—their decision of which scent to follow is for eternity. But the question is: Does your life’s scent attract others to Jesus or repel them?