Kindness

From: Boyd Bailey Ministries

1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is kind." 

Kindness means you are pleasant to be around because your countenance is inviting and shows interest. It is as much an attitude as anything, and it is the ability to see beyond the immediate to the potential. Kindness means you go out of your way to love someone. People who are unlovable become prime candidates for your kindness.

Love is kind in its conversations. Harsh and abrasive speech is absent from kind conversation. Love produces words that are "kind and tenderhearted." (Ephesians 4:32) Love is able to extend kind words that cheer up heavy hearts. (Proverbs 16:24)

Love people through difficult situations. Kindness is king for followers of King Jesus as it kills sin and sadness, and it brings to life love, forgiveness, and hope. Allow Jesus’ loving kindness to flow through you. Kindness resides where love is applied, because love is kind.

Let The Light Shine

From: Through The Bible Daily Devotions

Matthew 5:13-15 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."

Salt has to stay salty to be of value. If you lose your flavor, your distinctiveness, then you have lost your value. The Christian brings savor to life, reflecting the Holy Spirit's presence,  and that completely changes the way things are seen. The Spirit points out eternal realities. He takes the mundane and fills it with eternal importance. The world needs your saltiness.

Jesus said that He is the light of the world. As Christians, we are the little lights, bringing His light in a way that is comprehendible to man. Our testimony makes the eternal something they can see at work. God is not so distant or unreachable when they see Him at work in our life. 

If you truly have Him, you can't really hide Him. Don't attempt to hide Him to fit in. The world needs Him! Let the light shine! Let it shine in the world, and let it shine in your home. Let them see Jesus manifested in your mortal life.

Defining Moments

From: Bob Gass Ministries

Joshua 24:15 "If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve... As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Defining moments show us who we really are. Our defining moments usually come as a surprise and happen during times of crisis, such as facing a personal failure, taking an unpopular stand, suffering without complaining, being asked to forgive or making a hard choice. Sometimes, defining moments occur when we don't see them for what they are. It's only afterwards, as we look back, that we understand their importance. Either way, they define who we are.

Defining moments show others who we are. Most days we can wear a mask, but during defining moments we can't. Our image means nothing. Neither does our resolve or connections. We've no time to put a spin on our actions. Whatever is truly inside us is revealed to everyone.

Defining moments determine who we will become. You'll never be the same person after a defining moment. That's because defining moments are not normal, and what's 'normal' doesn't work in these times. Defining moments are like intersections in our lives - they give us an opportunity to turn, change direction, and seek a new destination. They present options and opportunities. In these moments, we must choose. And the choice we make will define us!

Quiet Patience

From: Ambassadors For Christ International - John North

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."

Learning to recognize God’s voice means coming to a place of quiet patience, based on our trust in Him! The world and our own human nature say, "Now! Hurry!" We live in an activist society that influences us to say, "If it is going to happen, it is up to me!" But God says, "Be still and know that I am God."

It goes against our nature, doesn’t it? It is natural to trust in ourselves, but God wants us to "know that I am God." He wants us to rest in that knowledge and stop struggling.

For that reason, God wants you to learn to wait on Him. When you learn to get quiet and trust in God, that is so often when He speaks into your heart. See Him for who He is. And then trust Him!

Your Heart

From: Ambassadors For Christ International - John North

Proverbs 4:23 "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life."

What flows out of your life comes from inside you. This inner life—the whole non-physical part of you—is called your "heart" in the Bible.

God's clear message to us from this passage is that we must constantly work to take care of our inner lives. The pressures of deadlines and financial issues and temptation all work together to distract us from our inner lives and make us focus on our outer lives. But if you want your outer life to stay in balance and not overwhelm you, you must make your inner life your first priority.

Take time with God each day. Develop your walk with Him. Look at your priorities and don't be distracted.

His Purpose

From: Today God Is First - Os Hillman Ministries

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your well-being not for woe; plans for a future full of hope!"

If you are going to discover how God wants to use your life and work, you must know why you were created. First and foremost, God created you to know Him and to have an intimate relationship with Him. In fact, God says that if a man is going to boast about anything in life, "boast about this: that he understands and knows Me." (Jeremiah 9:24)

Establishing a relationship with God is vital to understanding your purpose. If you don't have this relationship with God, you will seek to fulfill your purpose out of wrong motives; such as fear, insecurity, money, relationships, guilt or a self-serving attitude.

God's desire is for you to be motivated out of love for Him and to desire to worship Him in all that you do. As you develop your relationship with God, He will begin to reveal His purpose for your life. 

Adjust To Him

From: Today God Is First - Os Hillman Ministries 

John 21:6 "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some."

Jesus stood on the shoreline and watched Peter and a few of the disciples fish. Jesus yelled from the shoreline asking if they had caught anything. They had not. He then suggested they cast their line on the other side of the boat. Without knowing the person who was addressing them, they took His advice. They began catching so many fish they could not bring them in.

Adjusting our lives to God is the first thing that has to happen in order to begin experiencing Him in our daily lives. For some, it is simply following the advice of those above us. For others, it may require a major change in our job situation. Still, for others it could mean making changes in relationships. 

Whatever the case, you can be sure that until we adjust our lives to God we will not receive His full blessing, fulfilling our purpose in life. Ask God today where you need to adjust to Him.

Inconveniences

From: Our Daily Bread Ministries

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not rely on your own understanding. In all things be mindful of Him and He will direct your paths."

Life is filled with inconveniences. Our plans are constantly thwarted by forces beyond our control. The list is long and ever-changing: Sickness. Conflict. Traffic jams. Forgetfulness. Appliance malfunctions. Rudeness. Laziness. Impatience. Incompetence.

What we cannot see, however, is the other side of inconvenience. While it often makes life more difficult, and thwarts our plans, inconvenience could be God’s way of protecting us from some unseen danger. It might be the start of something even better than we had planned. Or it could be a test to see how we respond to adversity. 

To say that God’s followers throughout history have been "inconvenienced" would be an understatement. But God is always purposeful - then and now. Whatever it is, even though we may not know God’s reason, we can be assured of His motive - to make us more like Jesus and to further His kingdom on earth. 

Listening To God

From: Daily Disciples Devotionals

Isaiah 28:23 "Give ear and hear My voice, pay attention and listen to what I say."

To "listen" means that we are paying attention to the sound. To "hear" refers to perceiving something with our ears, kind of like seeing with our ears. In life today there are literally thousands of noises a day that compete for our attention. There are so many different noises and sounds that most of us do not pay attention to most of them.

God gave us ears to hear sound and He gave us the ability to listen so that the sound can be understood. When both hearing and listening work together, we have an understanding of the purpose of the sound. You can hear the words of a person speaking to you, but if you truly listen to the person, you will better understand their heart and the meaning behind their words.

The same principle holds true with God's Word. We can hear the Word preached, taught and read. We can read the Word ourselves and hear our own voices speak it. But, when we really listen to God's Word, then our understanding begins to change. But it all begins with understanding the difference between hearing and listening—start listening to God today.