What wisdom and help for everyone under the sun! We all can name scenarios where we have seen this verse played out and we can also name a long list of damage that can be done when someone else fails to try to understand, to ask questions and to just talk for the sake of expressing an opinion.

My husband and I enjoy watching the madness of the TV show 90 Day Fiancé. The show features real people who have engaged in online international dating and are now seeking to marry an international person. I enjoy the cultural contexts of the show and the unique relationship circumstances. At times there’s quite a bit of bickering and a lot of it has cultural differences at its core. Cultural context is vital to these couples understanding one another. A spin off from this show is The Family Chantal. A Dominican man marries an American woman and their families have great drama and do not get along. I believe this started when the American family refused to get out of the vehicle at the Dominican grandmother’s home when they arrived to share a meal prepared by her. They looked at the feral dogs and dirt floor and didn’t even get out of the van! This is a GREAT offense in most cultures! This hasn’t really been mentioned in the show as a root of their problem but it’s certainly a contributing factor.

Last night they used a coconut to pass to the person speaking. This eliminates the opportunity to interrupt and gives greater space to listen. They heard each other. They responded well. Maybe they can get along. We’ll see!

Nobody wakes up in the morning saying they wish to be a fool today! Yet many choose to do ignore the wisdom in this verse on a regular basis. I too am guilty of not listening well. This is timeless advice from God’s word that we can all add to the long list of areas we’d like to improve in.

Let’s stop and hear those around us today. That’s working towards being a peacemaker instead of stirring up dissension. How we speak to others is important.

One of my favorite verses! I love knowing I’m surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses cheering me on to do right in faith. There’s controversy, however, about who these witnesses are. Some say they are angels. Others say they are the citizens of Heaven who lived before us, some of those our deceased loved ones. While I prefer the second choice I’ll never know until I pass on from this world. Both options are greatly encouraging in my walk with God.

Life is a race. Some of us are carrying around things that weigh us down. When we choose to live weighed down we can barely take a step. When we choose to throw off that weight, confess sin and commit to live differently we can run like the wind! Our cloud of witnesses gets excited and cheers! What’s happening in with the crowd that’s watching us? Are we disappointing them? Are they proud? Are they wanting us to get up and get moving? Whatever the case, today is a new day, a fresh opportunity to live differently. Throw off the weight of sin! Let’s run together my friends!

Things are not always what they seem. I think about my teen years and my kids in their teens now. The one who seems to have the most friends might be the loneliest one. My youngest will turn 17 next week. She has severe ADHD and High Functioning Autism. She’s super impulsive. I have to supervise her internet usage because she will add numerous people on social media sites she doesn’t know. Her different mind doesn’t pause to grasp the dangers that can come from this.

There’s a show called Catfish we enjoy watching where people talk to people they met on the internet and claim they’re in love with this person they’ve never even met. It shouldn’t be surprising that when they finally meet they’re very rarely the person they thought they were. They’re devastated and disappointed when they learn the truth and aren’t even interested in that person anymore. Really? People present themselves as something they’re not on the internet? Haha…

Some people create social media accounts and strive to project to everyone a certain image or life. This can enslave us! There’s a constant pressure to uphold a certain image when really people desire authenticity and transparency more than anything. A true friend accepts us for who we really are. We don’t need to strive to be cool or fake our way in life. Our culture seems to be intoxicated by attention on social media.

I’m not even sure we’re capable of deep friendships in our teen years. Our brains aren’t fully developed yet and teens strive for acceptance and are forming their identities. They accept their friends only of they’re a certain way and walk away if someone is different.

The subject of friendship can be a hurtful one for adults too because we’ve all had someone betray us. Sin destroys relationships and we’re all sinners.

The only way I’ve found true friends is by loving people despite their faults and I can certainly improve in this area. If you’ve found a friend that sticks closer than a brother please know you’ve found a precious thing! So many search for this and endanger themselves looking for this. Getting noticed isn’t the same thing as having deep satisfying relationships. We can get a million likes on social media and feel very lonely.

The only thing that will truly satisfy the human soul comes from the One who created each one of us. We are wired to seek God. Sometimes we seek people instead of God and this messes everything up. People aren’t meant to be our God. Once we allow God to fill us we are satisfied and have the capacity to love others despite their shortcomings. This also removes a feeling I’m lacking something in my life and prevents me from searching for something or someone online. Thank your friends today. If you’re lacking a friend, serve God today and your relationships will begin.

Burdens, we all have them. Our burdens may look different but they all have the same ability to weigh us down, take our focus away and wreck us. Our burden seems heavier than the person we compare ourselves to. We just further burden ourselves when we compare ourselves to others.

My head is spinning today because we learned this morning an account my husband has is missing over nine thousand dollars! Yikes! We feel violated and taken advantage of. While this is stressful to wait out as the bank investigates it will not crush us. We will be ok. Money is of this world, not the world we’re headed to.

When we give things like this to God they no longer control us. I cannot control the sin of another person. I can control my reaction to it and how much I let it suck the wind out of me. I can worry myself sick if I allow it or I can get control of my mind and combat terrible thoughts. God gives us what we need when we need it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence this verse is the verse of the day when this problem arose in our lives. This is just a small example of what God does for us. God gives us reminders along the way of what really matters. Does it matter we lost a large amount of money? Yes! Will we allow this to steal anything else from us like joy, stability, or family? No. To get this encouragement, let it be noted, that I had to be intentional in opening the Bible app to read scripture. God cannot speak to us or encourage us if we are not opening the Word of God. We truly miss out. We’ve all done this. I don’t even want to imagine all I’ve missed throughout my life.

So, what’s your burden today? Simply speak to God about it. Ask God to take it. Ask God to help you focus on what matters most. Scripture teaches God and people matter most. Let’s be the righteous that aren’t moved like this verse says. We can only accomplish this if we obey God today.

Have you ever had a situation where God just gave you the right words to say? You walked away thinking you’re not even certain of what you said? God gives us what we need and sometimes it’s the right words.

Evil lurks with a hunger to destroy but I know who I belong to! Judgment is all around but this verse says my heritage will refute every tongue! If you’re doing anything for the Kingdom at all, you know this evil.

I know what it is to have lies spread about me. I know how gossip grows and festers especially when the enemy is in on it. In these circumstances I need this reminder! Sometimes it seems the liar has succeeded but the war isn’t even over yet. No, I’m not pondering revenge, not even close. The Lord will see that no weapon that comes against His people will have its’ way. Revenge is of the Lord, not for my human hands. This is truly greater than any Marvel comic superhero! How disappointing to learn they’re not even real. The Lord is real.

I’ve seen lightening strike the house of one who spread lies about me. No joke! Sometimes justice happens right here and now, but sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t we need to have faith, pray and press on. Evil loves it when we fight back. When we plan our counterattacks evil has already won because our focus has moved onto the evil and off of God. God will vindicate. That’s His job, not mine. Lay down your arms my friend. It’s the strongest one who doesn’t react to everything around them. This is a holy strength evil cannot combat. This is what it means to be a soldier for Christ, to let God do His job and I’ll do mine. Press on for God knows and sees. Serving God is our greatest joy even if it means slander, persecution or judgment from others. God will make it right.

Yikes! I think we’ve all known someone who provided us an example of this small piece of scripture that says so much. We’ve seen leaders develop egos that lead to their downfall: pastors who engaged in sin, football players who beat their girlfriends, and actors who pass away from an overdose. Pride is a great temptation. We all want to be noticed. We all want to be great. Yet, elevating ourselves only separates us more and more from God. The one who chases fame and importance may actually find it for awhile. That’s a great danger for when we find it, the very thing we thought we wanted will destroy us.

Why do we all seem to strive for this? We want to be noticed? We want to feel important? We live in a place where inequality is one of the greatest injustices. In fact, I’m learning it might even be at the root of any issue we consider injustice. Economic inequality, gender inequality, racial inequality just to name a few. Pride is a demon that tells us we are better than those people in that neighborhood. Pride says being wealthy is better than being poor. It tells us to prefer our own skin tone. Pride is evil my friends.

“Never listen to the praise of men,” a wise man once told me. This man fell high from his throne of leadership. I think he handed me advice he was struggling with. The compliments of others can be dangerous if we put them in the wrong place.

As a follower of Jesus I know the playing field will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight. The weak will be strong. Irony will triumph and many will be shocked they aren’t first.

Forget being noticed! Let’s entertain angels as we live this life! Let’s choose humility and serve one another. Let’s live in equality! I don’t need the law of the land to live out God’s commands. Brothers and sisters, we are not great. We serve the Great One: God Himself! May our lives proclaim the greatness of God!

Everlasting love, it’s the kind that settles your heart and is only found in God. Without it we search high and low but come up short every time. With this love nothing else matters much. This love changes us. We are never the same. It’s inexplicable. It’s warm. It sustains in the midst of chaos. It gives us the ability to see into another world. This Love pursues. This Love protects and guides. It’s the greatest anyone can ever imagine yet mankind runs from it. When we are loved like this it reveals all shortcomings, sin and brokenness within us and that’s just more easily avoided than faced. Only the brave stand and face God. The weak run away. The courageous reach out and become free through this love. It’s lavish. It’s strong. It never waivers. How foolish to reject God’s love for us.

Do justice while being kind and humble? Has anyone ever seen this? I see lots of people thinking they’re fighting for justice but not with humility and kindness. This says to DO justice, not to fight for it. There’s a difference.

This means I make things right that I have the ability to make right. I cannot change everything but I have the opportunity to affect the small space I occupy in the world. I can volunteer in my community to make something better. I cannot help everyone but I can help the one that’s right before me.

Our help doesn’t always turn out the way we’d like. Living like this, doing justice, loving kindness and walking in humility with God puts God on display in our lives for others to see. These things seem mysterious to those who do not know God. It peaks their interest and when this happens we have the opportunity to make a mark on eternity by sharing the Gospel message.

Doing justice with an ego only produces an argument. It separates and divides. We have the opportunity to walk humbly and to show kindness as we live out what God has called us to do. Living in these things has the power to change the world. We are only able to achieve them when we walk with God. I can only be kind and humble if I walk with God. It’s another irony. True power comes in kindness and humility! It’s our superpower!