Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
Read Psalm 42:8
There's nothing like the songs of the faith to help us live beyond the grind. Why else would God have inspired those age-old compositions? Surely, He realized the lasting value of each musical masterpiece and therefore preserved them to help us persevere. They drip with the oil of glory that enables us to live beyond the grind.
Read Galatians 6:7–9
Fulfillment must be one of life’s choicest gifts. It is a major building block toward authentic happiness. No doubt, Solomon had it in mind when he wrote these timeless words:
If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace; if you accept correction, you will be honored. It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them. (Proverbs 13:18-19)
Read Psalm 128:1–4
A family is like many things, perhaps most like a garden. It needs time, attention, and cultivation. The sunshine of laughter and affirmation. It also needs the rains of difficulties, tense moments, and serious discussions about issues that matter. And there must be spadework, where hardness is broken loose and planting of fresh seeds is accomplished with lots of TLC. Someone recently passed on to me suggestions for fifteen rows worth planting:
Plant four rows of peas: preparedness, perseverance, promptness, and politeness.
Read Philippians 4:12–13
Shakespeare called it “the green-eyed monster.” Bacon admitted it “keeps no holidays.” Horace declared that “tyrants never invented a greater torment.” Barrie said it “is the most corroding of the vices.” Sheridan referred to it in his play, The Critic, when he wrote, “There is not a passion so strongly rooted in the human heart as [this].” Philip Bailey, the eloquent English poet of yesteryear, vividly described it as “a coal [that] comes hissing hot from hell.”
Read Acts 20:22–24
There is a strange statement in Scripture that flashes like a bright neon sign. Paul made it while he was saying good-bye to a group of friends standing near him. It was a sad moment heavy with emotion. Most of the men were choking back tears, realizing they would never see him again. Looking around, the ageing apostle, with his weather-beaten hand pointing south toward the stormy skies above the Mediterranean Sea, voiced these words:
Read Ecclesiastes 12:1–2
Disorientation is the pits. When you travel a lot (like airline personnel) you must deal with it. When you fight deadlines as days run into nights (like tax consultants and publishing editors and pastors) you must work out ways to cope with it. When you are confined to tight places or inescapable spaces (like astronauts or prisoners or victims of confining illnesses)—again, that old bugaboo is there ready to bite, leaving you in the wake of depression or one of its emotional relatives. It happens frequently after people retire.
Read Ephesians 6:13
Tucked away in the folds of Hebrews 11 is a two-word biography worth a second glance: “He endured” (11:27, NASB).
The Living Bible says, “[he] kept right on going.”
The New International Version: “He persevered.”
The New English Bible: “He was resolute.”
The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition: “He held staunchly to his purpose.”
And Moffatt’s quaint rendering: “He never flinched.”
Read Proverbs 27:9
Webster defines the word “cordial” as of or relating to the heart: vital, tending to revive, cheer, or invigorate, heartfelt, gracious. That’s really a mouthful; in fact, that’s worth a few minutes of our time together. Being cordial starts from the heart, as I see it. How do we project cordiality? In answer to that question, allow me to offer four special ingredients:
Read Philippians 4:6–7
Paul wanted to be in heaven but needed to be on earth. In a temporal sort of way, in the time of year coming up, I share his frustration.
I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and watch the NFL...yet to remain in the pulpit is more necessary for your sake. (Philippians 1:23-24, Swindoll paraphrase)
Read Amos 7:14–15
There is only one you. In our overly-populated, identity-crisis era it is easy to forget this. Individuality is played down. We are asked to conform to the “system.”
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