Category: Today’s Truth

If people in this world had self control, there would be a lot less hurt and we would see relationships thrive and flourish. There are many examples of people who lived lives controlled by the Lord instead of their own flesh in the Bible, but one of the best examples is the story of Daniel.

Daniel was chosen by the king to serve in the palace. He was a captive living in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. When Daniel was brought to the palace, he was given anything he wanted to eat or drink, yet he abstained from the pleasures of the palace and instead followed the Lord. Even after Daniel began to serve in the kingdom, he continued to serve the Lord. When some of the leaders did not like how Daniel exhibited self-control, they planned a way to trap him. Yet, Daniel continued to serve the Lord. When he was thrown into a den of lions for serving the Lord, his true king, he still remained faithful and the lions did not devour him. The next day the king and the people were astonished to see Daniel untouched. They praised the God of Daniel.

Daniel was an example of what can happen when you live a controlled life and are not influenced by the riches and pleasures of this world. He continued to serve the Lord, even when others around him did not. He abstained from anything that would ruin his relationship with the Lord, and he trusted that no matter what happened to him, God’s name would still be praised. This is exactly how God wants us to live: a life controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Gentleness soothes the spirit. It encourages the broken-hearted. It gives hope to the hopeless. Proverbs 15:1 states that “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.” Have you ever been in the middle of an argument? Chances are you have. Think about what you have experienced or seen in the middle of an argument. This verse says that tempers flare. Tempers rise in an argument and only make things worse.

However, kind and gentle words heal all wounds. This is a truth we should teach our children. Imagine if they lived by this truth instead of allowing anger to control them. This is a truth we should apply in marriage as well. Be gentle with your spouse instead of harsh. Allow gentleness to rule in an argument instead of tempers. This is a truth we should apply to everyone else we meet whether that is at work or in the world. Be gentle with others. Allow them to see Christ in you.

Gentleness will rule in our world if we allow it to rule in our hearts and home first. Gentleness can bind us together with others and can pave the way to love, joy, and hope. May your words be gentle and your actions be evidence of the gentleness that lives inside of you.

Faithfulness is putting your hope and trust in someone or something. Marriage is one example of faithfulness. When you share your vows on your wedding day, you are pledging your faithfulness to your spouse. You are saying that you are trustworthy and they can hope in your love. Friendship is another example of faithfulness. If a friend is continuously unfaithful, breaking promises and is not trustworthy, then you will probably not continue to be their friend. Faithfulness is important in both marriage and friendships.

Jesus was the ultimate example of faithfulness when He submitted to God’s will and gave His life on the cross. Jesus knew His purpose on earth was to fulfill God’s will, and He spoke of this often, with everyone He encountered. Yet, He still struggled with the decision to go to the cross when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane. This showed both His spiritual side and His human side. He was faithful in following the will of His Father and walked to His death. He was willing to take on the pain and sins of the world so that we might live with Him and the Father. This was faithfulness, carrying out a promise He had made to His Father and to His people.

So when you are struggling with faithfulness, whether that is because you are having a hard time keeping your promise or you are struggling with someone who has not been faithful, just remember the love of the Father and how Jesus was faithful, even to death. He is our example of faithfulness and should drive us to be a faithful people.

Sometimes it can be difficult to see the good in the world. With pain, suffering, and heartache everywhere you look, good can feel few and far between. Turn on the news and you hardly hear of anything but destruction and despair. Social media tends to be riddled with negativity and rebellion against God, and yet they tell us to be the good. So where is the good?

The good lives inside of every single believer. From the moment someone accepts Jesus as their Savior, the Holy Spirit is planted within the believer, so good lives in their heart. When you go above and beyond to serve someone in their time of need, you are “being the good.” When you share about the things God has done in your life, you are “being the good.” When you reach out a helping hand during a tragic event, you are “being the good.” When you sit with a friend after they get a devastating diagnosis, you are “being the good.” Christians can be the hands and feet of Jesus and show goodness to the world around them. They can flood their social media with good. They can change the minds of the lost with their goodness.

Be the good in someone else’s life. Be the bright spot in their day. Reach out to them when no one else does. Show other’s the goodness God has been in your life by being the good in their life.

Kindness tends to be rare in the world today. All around us we see people hurting and longing for a kind word or deed from someone else. The Bible is the ultimate picture of kindness. One example of kindness in the Bible is the story of the Good Samaritan.

Jesus tells the story of a Jewish man who was attacked by bandits and left for dead. A priest walked by and just passed to the other side. A Temple Assistant saw him lying there but still passed to the other side. These were two religious men who saw someone in need, and chose themselves over the kindness they could bestow on someone else. Finally, it was a Samaritan who noticed the Jewish man in turmoil and chose kindness over himself. He immediately felt compassion for the man when he saw him and began to bandage his wounds. His kindness did not stop there. He took the man to an inn to care for him and paid the innkeeper to continue caring for him after he left. Jesus then asks which of these three men was a true neighbor? Biblical kindness goes beyond a kind word or gesture; it is a lifestyle. Being kind was not a chore or even a choice for this Samaritan man. It was a way of life.

This is how God wants us to show kindness to others. It should be a way of life for us. We should be so caring with others that when they look at us, they see the love and kindness of Christ. If we follow the kindness God has shown us and the real-life examples in the Bible, we will learn how to make kindness the theme of our lives.

No one is more patient than God Himself. His very character exuberates patience. Throughout time, our heavenly Father has waited patiently for man to choose Him and His love over all else. Biblestudytools.com (www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/patience/) says that “Patience” implies suffering, enduring or waiting, as a determination of the will and not simply under necessity.” When we think of how God waits for man to choose a life with Him, we see all of these qualities of patience.

First, let’s look at suffering. Christ suffered on the cross to reconcile man to God. Christ had to suffer and experience the pain from the cross in order to bring about salvation for mankind. In this Christian life, we too may experience pain and suffering. Hebrews 2:10 says that God made Jesus a perfect leader in His suffering. We should follow in His example, knowing that suffering brings about glory. Christ endured the testing and trials the devil put him through, as it states in James 1:12 (God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.) He endured so we could follow Him in that and also endure to receive the prize. This makes all suffering we endure seem so much less than anything He went through. We can be patient in all we endure in this life because Christ was patient with us.

The King James version of the Bible uses the word “long suffering” instead of patience. Some days it may feel more like long suffering instead of patience. Know that Christ understands and because of this, God sent His Holy Spirit to live inside of the believer to give the believer patience.

God knew from the beginning of time that there would be a need for peace. There would be a need to bring peace and hope into a dying world. He knew that man would sin and mess things up. He knew that man would never be able to do anything on his own and would need a Savior. Enter Christ. God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to the world to be our peace. He would be the peace in the midst of the storm.

Isaiah prophesied that God would send Jesus to be the Prince of Peace in chapter nine, verse six (For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.) He brought His son Jesus into the world as a baby. While men waited for an earthly king to save them, God came down as a heavenly king to save man’s soul. While the world was erupting with sin, God already had a plan to reconcile the relationship with man. This is evidence that we cannot do anything without God’s presence in our lives. Philippians 4:6-7 says not to worry about anything, but instead pray and then we will experience the peace of God that passes our human understanding.

So how do we experience the peace that God gives through Jesus Christ? The answer is simple. We pray. When we pray we feel the inner peace that calms our storms and quiets the noise around us. When we are in a personal relationship with Christ, He will give us that peace when we call out to Him. Only He can be our peace, not another person, not a circumstance. Nothing can give us the peace that comes from the Father.

Joy doesn’t always look the way we think it will look. It does not just mean happiness or a positive attitude. Joy is the ray of light that shines in the midst of the darkness. It is the hope God gives when all hope seems lost. It is the song you sing when you can’t find the words. Joy never fails. It never ends. It never fades. Joy is always there even when you can’t see it. Let’s take a look at two stories of hope in the Bible that radiate with joy.

Look at Job for instance. Job was a man who had everything stripped away from him. It seemed as though he had nothing left and no reason to continue on. He lost his livestock, his family, and even his health. Job’s friends tried to “comfort” him by letting him know that it was his fault these things were happening to him. However, Job continued to place his faith in the Lord. He continued to look up. His response to the Lord was that He gives and takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord. He chose joy over sorrow, even when his friends and wife told him to choose sorrow. Joy is looking up in the midst of grief. Look at Mary the mother of Jesus. She became pregnant with the Son of God when she was still considered a young woman and not married to Joseph yet. She was surely ashamed and fearful of the unknown future. However, she chose to embrace the godly calling and instead rejoiced that God had chosen her to bear His child. She said in Luke 1:46 “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” She chose joy over a fear that could have paralyzed her, and in return, God blessed her.

We can also choose joy instead of sorrow and instead of fear. When we allow joy to have its way, we will find a stable ground to stand on.

What does love look like in the world today? We see two conflicting versions of love when we look at both the church and society and what it really looks like. So how do we know which version is right and which one will last?

Society has tried to preach its version of love for centuries. It boasts of a love that is passionate, lustful, and a love at first sight kind of love. These are the types of love you would see in the movies. Boy meets girl and is in love the minute he lays eyes on her. The two “fall in love” and take the next step that the world deems fit; they move in together and begin a physical relationship. It is not long before the relationship ends and scars of bitterness, regret, and shame remain. Slowly, the world has distorted and changed its concept over the years until it has no similarities to the Bible at all.

The Bible’s version of love; however, has stood the test of time and is unfailing. It began with God in the beginning of time and how He created man and woman to walk the earth and have a love relationship with Him. He graciously poured His own love over His creation and taught them how to love. When His people look to Him and His Word, He will continuously teach them how to love with a godly type of love. His love is lasting and unfailing. It is faithful and just. It is everything that 1 Corinthians 13 says it is: kind, patient, not self-serving, just to name a few. Why wouldn’t we want to love with that kind of love?

Discipline is something that can be difficult to implement in the home. There are many different thoughts and strategies when it comes to discipline. Many parents seek out help in books, Studies, TV shows, and people they know to guide them on this journey called parenting. Sometimes that advice can be helpful in raising children who know and love the Lord, but when the advice is not rooted in Christ, it will fail. If you follow the words of the Bible and others who have a relationship with the Lord, then you will see your children become the people God has created them to be.

In order to train our children up with godliness, we must teach them how to obey (Ephesians 6:1). This is pleasing to God when we train them to obey. That means we make sure they are held accountable for their actions so they understand the difference between right and wrong. Ephesians goes on to say in verse 4 to not exasperate your children. Do not provoke them to anger. This can be tough when they are being disobedient or disrespectful, but if you are showing self-control and respect when you are disciplining them, then they will learn that attribute. Finally, always remember to give grace when they need it. Sometimes children are harder on themselves than they need to be, so make sure that you work through situations with them and offer grace to show them that we all make mistakes. It is what we do next that matters.

Children are such a beautiful gift from the Lord. Look to Him to help you with parenting. God disciplines His children (us), and He is a good Father, so He will be able to show you how to discipline as well.