Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group 4Him singing … The Basics of Life … poignantly singing of how we Christians need to get back to the basics of life … living like for Christ and to shine His light in this dark world.
==============
Highlight Verse[s]: 1Timothy 6: 8 [NLT] … 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
… Paul exhorts us to be content with the basics of life.
==============
Highlight Passage [context]: 1Timothy 6:6-10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul helps Timothy (and us) realize the secret to true contentment and avoiding the traps of the world and the flesh.
==============
Reference Passage : … Proverbs 23:4-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Solomon gives Godly advice on how to avoid the trap of pursuing wealth. Too bad he didn’t live up to his own advice; because we read his regrets, having fallen prey to his own selfishness in this link to Eccles. 5:10 ...
Reference Passage : … Matthew 6:19-21, 24 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… From the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preaches on the dangers of serving our selfish desires to pursue wealth rather than our relationship with King Jesus.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 13:5 [NLT] … 5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, … “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
… God’s warning to be satisfied pursuing our relationship with the One Who will never fail us.
Reference Passage : … 1John 2:15-16 [NLT] … 15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
… God warns us to avoid loving and pursuing the the lusts of the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, James Banks, uses a familiar botanical picture which warns us of falling prey to the traps of wealth/power in the world. The ODB author wrote: The Venus flytrap was first discovered in a small area of sandy wetlands not far from our home in North Carolina. These plants are fascinating to watch because they’re carnivorous.
Venus flytraps release a sweet-smelling nectar into colorful traps that resemble open flowers. When an insect crawls inside, triggering sensors along the outer rim, the trap clamps shut in less than a second—capturing its victim. [see photo] The trap then closes further and emits enzymes that consume its prey over time, giving the plant nutrients not provided by the sandy soil.
And God’s word is repetitively clear about avoiding the “flytraps” the world uses to trap us, … using our selfish desires for money or power. God warns us in His word … over and over and over again [see Scriptures above] … to beware of our natural desires to pursue the lusts of the flesh, our power hungry eyes, and the pride of life as we often pursue contentment in the world rather than in our relationship with Christ.
If we let our desire for wealth or worldly power lure us, we will walk right into the world’s glitzy “fly traps,” which lure us into their deathly grip. And that’s why the group 4Him sings that we need to get back to “the basics of life,” … being content with and pursuing only a more abiding relationship with Christ.
So, what is luring us away from a deeper, more abiding relationship with our Lord? And how are we pursuing Christ to avoid the “fly-traps” of this world?
=============
My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for giving us all we need to be content … in our relationship with You.
=============
My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me to avoid the “fly-traps” of this world and pursue contentment only in Christ. … 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment