Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a You Tube video of iGuy Penrod singing the classic hymn … Count Your Blessings, reminding Christians to remember what God has done for us.
Highlight Passage: Matthew 20:15 [NKJV] …
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
… Seeking to go our own way or to be like others so often leads us astray from God.
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Highlight Context … Matthew 20:1-16 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard.
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Reference Passage #1 … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… So often our pursuits are a matter of trusting and seeking God’s ways, rather than our own.
Reference Passage #2 … Luke 18:9-14 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… We can be like the Pharisee in the parable and look down - in pride - on others we feel lower than our station in life
Reference Passage #3 … Romans 12:1-2 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Conforming to the world’s ways is not being a living sacrifice for our Lord.
My Journal for Today: … Our Daily Bread author, Marvin Williams, quotes a sociologist on how we so often try to pursue what others have rather than being grateful for God’s blessings. He wrote: Thomas J. DeLong, a professor at Harvard Business School, has noted a disturbing trend among his students and colleagues—a “comparison obsession." He writes: “More so than ever before, . . . business executives, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals are obsessed with comparing their own achievements against those of others. [see attached photo] . . . This is bad for individuals and bad for companies. When you define success based on external rather than internal criteria, you diminish your satisfaction and commitment.”
And the scriptures rendered above certainly support this professor’s observation, … telling us, in no uncertain terms, what Guy Penrod sings in today’s devotional song. All too often I find myself comparing what I do with others, rather than being grateful for God’s many (WAY MANY!) blessings in my life. I find myself seeking to do life the world’s way rather than pursuing God’s way [see Prov. 3:5-6 and Romans 12:2].
I don’t need to be like so many others. I need to be me … and the best me I can be for my Lord. And that’s my goal today. How about you?
My Prayer Today: O, Heavenly Father, … Lord, thank You for saving ME … and for reshaping me into Your image. Help me to be the best of You I can be today. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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