Alternatives to Despair

Psalms 37:1-2  

1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;

2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

1. Fret not: “evildoers…shall soon be cut down” (vv. 1-2)

2. Trust in the LORD: “so shalt thou dwell in the land” (v.3)

3. “Delight thyself in the LORD, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (v.4)

4. “Commit thy way unto the LORD…he shall bring it to pass” (v.5)

5. “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for him” (v.7)

Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Thoughts on Today's Verse....

Jesus' love for children in an age when they weren't highly regarded is a powerful reminder. It is a reminder of God's love for what the world often abuses or abandons. We are called to love the unloved, the forgotten, the abused and neglected. Why? Because that is what Israel was in Egypt and that is what Jesus was at Calvary and that is what we were without grace (Romans 5:6-11). How can we claim to know salvation and not share it with others who need that grace!? How can we claim to be Jesus' disciples and not show love for those the world forgets?

Quotes on Worship

But I must confess that there are days when my circumstances don’t seem to lend themselves to worship. Days when I feel so caught up in my own problems or so pulled down by my own depression that entering into worship would almost feel hypocritical. What am I to do on those days? – On those days I am to worship anyway! I am to bring the Lord what the Bible calls sacrificial praise: ‘So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise, coming from lips that speak His name.’(Hebrews 13:15) -  Claire Cloninger

Does the Bible ever say anywhere from Genesis to Revelation, ‘My house shall be called a house of preaching’? Does it ever say, ‘My house shall be called a house of music’? Of course not. The Bible does say, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’. Preaching, music, the reading of the Word – these things are fine; I believe in and practice all of them. But they must never override prayer as the defining mark of God’s dwelling. the honest truth is that I have seen God do more in people’s lives during ten minutes of real prayer than in ten of my sermons. -   Jim Cymbala

Familiar Verse from the Bible…

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God