Mental Barriers to God’s Voice
Read 2 Corinthians 10:1–5
Do you realize the power of humanistic reasoning to block the power of Scripture? Let me be specific.
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Insight for Today
Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
Two Questions
Read Psalm 42:11
When comparing the acts of forgiving and forgetting, I believe forgetting is the tougher assignment.
Why? Because forgetting is something that is shared with no other person. It’s a solo flight. All the rewards are postponed until eternity...but how great they will be on that day!
Forgetting requires us to think correctly, which means our full focus must be on the Lord and not on people. By God’s great grace, that level of freedom can be experienced.
Before we move on, let’s pause long enough to ask ourselves two questions:
What You Gain in Losing
Read Philippians 3:7–9
Former President Ronald Reagan kept a plaque on his desk in the oval office which read: There’s no limit to what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.
Little wonder President Reagan achieved so much in his eight years as leader of the free world.
Yet that principle was not original with him. It comes from the heart of God. Here’s how the apostle Paul stated it:
Vulnerability
Read Philippians 3:10–14
Could we revisit those words Paul wrote?
“I have not achieved it...forgetting the past...looking forward to what lies ahead.”
Paul's openness is best described with one word: vulnerability.
"I have not achieved/reached it" is a concept Paul mentions no less than three times in Philippians 3:10–14. Read these words again; see if you can find each of the three:
Determination
Read Philippians 3:13–14
Those who refuse to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future. People who do this are never petty. They are too involved in getting a job done to be preoccupied with yesterday’s hurts and today’s disappointments. Do you need some fresh encouragement to press on today? Read Paul’s testimony:
When God Forgives
Read Psalm 103:1–5
Truth be told, it’s God’s forgiveness of us that makes it possible for us to forgive others.
The Power of Forgiveness
Read Romans 2:4
Late one spring Aaron, a seminary student, was asking God for a position at a church or at a Christian organization. When nothing happened, Aaron took a job driving a bus in a dangerous section of Chicago. Soon Aaron realized just how dangerous.
A group of tough kids began to take advantage of the young driver. Several mornings, they got on the bus without paying, ignored his warnings, and rode as far as they wanted to. He decided it had to stop.
Sticking with a Commitment
Read 2 Corinthians 8:10–11
A full year before the apostle Paul wrote to people who comprised the Corinthian church, they had begun a project. No doubt they got started with a burst of enthusiasm, the thrill of a fresh beginning. But with the passing of time, the newness had worn off. The edge of their spontaneous motivation had gotten dull. It became a monotonous marathon that dragged slowly on and on. So, Paul prodded them to stick with their commitment:
Making a Thorough Self-Evaluation
Read 2 Corinthians 8:7–8
I’ll never forget something I heard on the radio several years ago. A woman in West Palm Beach, Florida, died alone at the age of seventy-one. The coroner’s report was tragic. “Cause of death: malnutrition.”
The dear lady wasted away to fifty pounds. Investigators who found her said the place where she lived was a veritable pigpen. One seasoned inspector declared he’d never seen a residence in greater disarray.
The Cost of Following
Read Luke 9:23
Do you recall Jesus' radical philosophy of servanthood? It’s found tucked away in His now immortal words:
He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
Following Christ as His disciple is a costly, unselfish decision. It calls for a radical examination of our self-centred life. Whew! That’s one of those easy things to say but awfully tough to carry out.
