MATERIAL WORLD

 

1 John 2:16

"For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world."NIV

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."KJV

God created us with sensory systems, hormones, and egos so we could experience the world around us and glorify Him for the beautiful creation He made. After the fall, we no longer used these human things to long for our God, see all His beauty, and feel the contentment of being in His presence. Now it's the things of the world for which we long--the things we see, the things that make us feel good, and the things that make us look good. The world became our God. Praise be to God for the gift of His Son that got us back to where we needed to be--longing for Him.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for letting the world get more of us than we give to You. Living in the world makes it effortless to get caught up in wanting the things it has to offer. Give us zeal for the things of God and see the world for what it is, a wasting, lost, and sinful place. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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NON-CONFORMISTS

 

Romans 12:2

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."NIV

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."KJV

Each day we live, we are changing. We are being changed by the environment, the world around us, and the things that enter our minds. This is true for all of us. What is also true is that we all have a choice as to what we do with these changes. We can obliviously float along with the world and be like the world in the way we live. Or, we can change the worldliness that hovers all around us and purposefully work to be mindful that we are to be like Christ, not like this world.

Heavenly Father, we need Your grace through the power of the Holy Spirit to transform our minds from the ways of this world so that we will reflect Christ instead of the things of this world. Help us to begin this work now, we pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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WE ALL FALL SHORT

 

Romans 3:23

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."NIV

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."KJV

It's a pretty common thing for us to look at the lives of others and tag our opinion on how far from God they are. It is always easy to see where others are going wrong. We react with self righteous disgust when someone of high standing falls into sin and it's made public. Who are we to make any kind of judgment on the sins of others? According to the Word of God, we've all been in the mud pit of sin. Yet while we remember the mud that was washed from us because of Christ, we still turn up our noses at those who still wear the mud. It is the blood of Christ only that covers our own sin.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for forgetting from where we came. Instead of judging others who sin, give us hearts of compassion and desire to show the love of Christ to them, just as other Christian's did for us. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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HOW TO BE CHRIST'S DISCIPLES

 

Matthew 16:24

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'"NIV

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.'"KJV

Jesus made it very clear what we must do in order to be His own followers. First of all we have to want to be His disciple. He will never force us. Then we must be willing to give up our rights to ourselves, working to stop following our natural inclinations. Next, we must be active in meeting with the trials and tribulations that will come because we are living for Christ. Finally, we are to simply live the way Jesus lived and the way He taught us to live through His Word and by the Holy Spirit. It's a long narrow journey, so let's get going.

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You gave us clear instructions on how to live like Christ. We pray for Your grace that we might live lives that show Christ and His love. We pray for courage and strength to stay the course. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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WHAT ARE WE DOING?

 

Haggai 1:7

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways.'"NIV

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways."KJV

Our daily schedules are so busy we have organized our tasks by doing things by mindless routine. Unfortunately, it is easy to get into a mindless routine of daily Bible reading and prayer, if we have worked that into our day at all. When we are going along on auto pilot through our day, the enemy has a perfect playground in our minds and lives to set us up for temptation and sin. Take heed of what the Word tells us to do.

Heavenly Father, we ask for Your forgiveness for going through our day without giving thought to what we say or do, but live in mindless routines. We pray for mindfulness of all that we think, say, and do so that we will bring honor and glory to Your name. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

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NO PLACE TO HIDE

 

Jeremiah 23:24

"Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?" declares the Lord. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the Lord. NIV

"Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?" saith the Lord. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" saith the Lord. KJV

Many deceive themselves into thinking they can get by with private sins. After all, they aren't hurting anyone and no one will find out. Even worse, some of these people are Christians. It is more prevalent in Christians because finding out hidden sins would be quite embarrassing. Many sins believed to be hidden are never hidden from God. And it is to God that we must all answer. If we have sins of any kind we are hiding from others, we must go to God, confess those sins, ask for forgiveness, and sin no more. If we don't, God may just orchestrate things so that we will be found out.

Heavenly Father, search our hearts to see if there are any sins we are hiding. May Your Holy Spirit convict us until we turn to You to confess and repent. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can take away those hidden sins and make us clean before You. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

No Copyright Infringement Intended

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HIS WAY IS THE HIGHWAY

 

Isaiah 55:9

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."NIV

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."KJV

It is human nature for us to play out in our minds how the Lord is going to work in our situations. And then we are surprised at how He does it, a way we would never have thought. It shows us that God's ways are much different than ours. How different? His ways are a greater distance than the heavens are from the earth, which by the way, scientist have not been able to measure. When we ask God why, or wonder what He is doing, we can let our faith kick in full and just trust Him. He is in control.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for questioning what You are doing or not doing. Help us to strengthen our faith so that in any situation, although we may not understand, we will know that You are working in Your way, not ours. In Jesus' name, Amen.

           

©2011

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

drbobbijo@yahoo.com

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

No Copyright Infringement Intended

Personal Use Only