God's Treat

An October thirty-first birthday is sometimes a topic of tease and ridicule. But we have no control over our day of birth, even if it was a scheduled date or emergency surgical delivery. Solomon tells us there is a time for everything, including the day we are born (Ecclesiastes 3:1–2). God uniquely wove each of us. Before the world began, He planned your birthday, personality, abilities, hair and eye color, physique, fingerprint, and DNA—everything unique that makes you who you are; you are one-of-a-kind. Almighty God has always been and will always be in charge of all His creation; He has a perfect plan for your life. As you seek Him and surrender to Him daily, praise God and rejoice in the day the Lord has made every day. You are His prized possession: Happy birthday, Tami, our firstborn. We love you, thank God for you! 💞

Expert Opinion

It’s okay to judge. You looked at a hundred book titles for the best read and chose the one that grabbed your attention with its intriguing title and graphic on the cover. You opened your closet and decided which clothes to keep, donate, and toss. You thought the matters over and made a decision. But sometimes, we make decisions based on wrong first impressions, like rash, unjust judgments towards others. Jesus said when we do, they will judge us by the same standard of verdict we use on them: “Judge not that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). Rather than be critical, He said we should examine our faults and behavior, judge ourselves before we scrutinize someone else. By judging others, we expose what we are guilty of doing (Romans 2:1); we want their behavioral patterns to change while ours stay unchanged. What perfect example is your standard for judgment? God alone is Judge—no one else qualifies.

Broken Circle

Our dog was obsessed with a large azalea bush once she learned birds stayed in it; her running around it several times every day created a noticeable, shallow rut. Her barking rid the plant of birds each time, but they soon returned because that was where they nested.

 It may seem you’re traveling a never-ending circle of poor choices and performance. You do your best to break the cycle, but soon you’re back in the visible rut on the same path. Those old habits you flush out keep coming back to roost. But there is a way out of life’s rut; Christ died to free us from the penalty and bondage of sin: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is through Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). When you ask God to forgive your sins, He will. Invite Jesus to be Lord of your life; He will. But when you falter along the way, that path doesn’t have to become another encircling life-rut. Call out to your Father when you see an old familiar path forming; trust Him to break the unwanted circle and set your feet back on course for faithful service, and He will.

Impressionable

The young boy sat next to his dad under a tree and mimicked his every move. As the dad enjoyed a cigarette he took from the pack, the son looked at his dad, picked up the cigarettes from the grass, and looked at them in his hand. That message could apply to inappropriate things we see, hear, participate in, anything harmful or unhealthy for our well-being. We influence others who watch us.

As God’s children, we should live as Jesus did: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:6). No matter our age, godly influences are essential to our spiritual well-being but especially in shaping the lives of children looking for life patterns. Who are you walking as today? We ought to imitate Jesus, live as He did, devoted and obedient to His Father every day. Someone is always watching. 

No Exemptions

The ark of the Lord’s covenant was rescued and brought back to Israel’s camp with rejoicing and music. David told the Israelites, “Declare His glory among the heathen; His marvelous works among all nations” (1 Chronicles 16:24). The Word of God is readily available today. However, it’s still vital that believers declare God’s greatness and wondrous works. We tell others by word of mouth, books, correspondence, recordings, and social media. From the comfort of our home, workplace, or place of worship, we can post Bible studies, sermons, music, encouraging words, and words of caution electronically, reaching thousands.

Jesus didn’t invite us but commanded us to go and tell the world—now (Matthew 28:19–20). He is with us and has supplied every resource needed to carry out His assignment successfully. His command is for all Christ-followers—we have no excuse not to tell others of God’s glory and saving grace.

Don't Touch

 The eye, the most delicate part of the body with its pupil (apple of the eye), the small dark circle in the center, is precious and invaluable, covered by the eyelid to keep it from harm. God made us in His likeness. His eyes are always on us; He loves and shelters His children—we are precious in His sight. 

As David fled his enemies, he understood the eye’s guarded significance, calling on God to keep him as the apple of the eye under the shadow of His wings (Psalm 17:8). When anyone mistreats God’s treasured ones, they have reached out against the apple of His eye: “. . . for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). Jesus said how we treat others is the same as doing it to Him (Matthew 25:34–46). That thought should cause us to think twice before “touching”—treat unkindly, neglect, or harm—the apple of God’s eye, His prized possession.

Revive Us, O Lord—Again

The writer of this psalm knew God’s people needed reviving before they could once again joy in His presence: “Wilt thou not revive us again that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?” (Psalm 85:6). He was confident of God’s love and forgiveness and trusted what He required was for their best, saying he would carefully listen and do whatever God instructed. But he also knew the danger of His people returning to their former wicked and foolish ways (v. 8).

We can be as confident as the psalmist that God wants what’s best for us. When we confess our sins, ask God for forgiveness, and go back to where we left Him, He is faithful to forgive. But after God restores our lives, do we live rightly before Him? We would be wise to heed Jesus’ warning to the paralyzed man He healed from his bed-ridden state: “Sin no more.” Jesus knew the man’s sins that led to his infirmity. If he repeated his former wicked and foolish ways, he would suffer worse consequences (John 5:14)—a dire warning for us individually, God’s Church, and as a nation.