Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube with song and lyrics from the group Mercy Me singing … Even If … poignantly singing of how we can get bogged down with the circumstances of life; and EVEN IF we encounter such challenges we must keep following God’s ways in life.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Proverbs 16:9 [NLT] … 9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
… And we should make our plans based on the “Master Plan,” … i.e., God’s word.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Proverbs 16:1-3, … 9 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God thru Solomon redirects us to use God's ways to travel the roads of life.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 119:9-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s master road map to avoid sin in our lives … i.e, knowing and following God’s truth.
Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Trusting to follow God’s way in life, no matter where it will lead us.
Reference Passage : … 1 Corinthians 10:13 [NLT] … 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.
… Even if we run into delays or detours in life, God can - AND WILL - show us THE way, … His way!
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 5:15-16 [NLT] … 15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
… In these evil days, we need to be careful and proactive in the way we live.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Adam Holz, uses a very common situational word picture which warns us of delays or troubles as we travel the roads of life. The ODB author wrote … Are you kidding me?! I was already late. But the road sign ahead instructed me to adjust my expectations: “Expect Delays,” [see photo] it announced. Traffic was slowing down.
I had to laugh: I expect things to work on my ideal timeline; I don’t expect road construction.
On a spiritual level, few of us plan for crises that slow us down or reroute our lives. Yet, if I think about it, I can recall many times when circumstances redirected me—in big ways and small. Delays happen.
Scripture warns us to plan carefully in life but to expect challenges along the road; because these truly are evil days as Paul warned in Ephesians 15:15-16. And the highlight passage shows us that we can - and should - plan our travels in life; but we certainly should not be surprised if God directs or allows us to hit some delays or detours along that road.
I lead a ministry to help men who’ve gotten bogged down on life’s roads by patterns of habitual sin [USE THIS LINK TO WEBSITE]; and they desire to redirect their lives by following God’s will and HIS ways (see Ps. 119:9-11 and Prov. 3:5-6). So, we attempt to show these disciples that the best way to plan to avoid delays and pitfalls on their road in life is to use God’s word to be our “GPS” (God’s Positioning System) and to expect selfish and worldly delays along our way. And when we internalize God’s GPS, i.e., His word, we can expect far fewer delay signs along our paths.
I pray my readers here are using God’s “GPS” everyday to proactively map out our travel plans in life.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for giving us Your “GPS” to travel our road today and all days.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me and to seek our destination today by following Your will and ways from Your word. … 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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