MEDITATION:
Today’s meditation is an excerpt from the Our Daily Bread Mountain Life devotional.
Living in harmony is not as easy as it looks. If we are honest, we like to have things go our own way. Living in harmony does not happen if our real goal is to get people to act the way we want them to act and, at the end of the day, to admit we were right all along (LOL). Our human tendency is to find fault with others, blaming them if harmony is not being achieved. Sadly, the blame game comes naturally to most of us…The blame game does not work because, in reality, the only person I can change is myself…Rather than putting the spotlight on others, let’s start by putting it on ourselves. I want all of us to rate ourselves in the following categories when it comes to our person. A 1 is a low score and a 10 is “we are living it to the max.” Your personal rating should come from how you are doing of late. (Note: if you give yourself all “10’s” then pray for honesty and re-take the test!) 1) Keeping a sense of humor 2) Being patient 3) Being quick to forgive 4) Sharing how you really feel 5) Building others up 6) Being considerate 7) Overlooking minor offenses 8) Listening to others 9) Serving others in love, and 10) Being positive.
As we consider how we are doing, the goal is not to beat ourselves up in areas where we are struggling. Rather, we can come to God in prayer and ask Him for the grace to grow in these areas. If we slow down and listen, He will help us see specific ways we can change for the benefit of everyone. He may also ask us to ask a loved one for forgiveness if we have hurt them by not living in love in a certain area.
PRAYER:
Today’s prayer is a prayer from Nigeria.
God in heaven, you have helped my life to grow like a tree. Now something has happened. Satan, like a bird, has carried in one twig of his own choosing after another. Before I knew it he had built a dwelling place and was living in it. Tonight, my Father, I am throwing out both the bird and the nest. Amen
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