Daily Devotional

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Just For Today - A Daily Approach to Prayer and Scripture

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Monday, May 20

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
Pr 18:21 NKJV

THE ANSWER TO YOUR WORRIES

Your words either work for you or against you. The Bible says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” The old saying, “You’ll eat your words,” is more than a meaningless cliché, it’s the truth! Jeremiah the prophet writes, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jer 15:16 NKJV). The Psalmist writes, “They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses (worries). He sent His word and healed them” (Ps 107:19-20 NKJV). God’s Word is the medicine that heals worry. So what God has to say about the issue must be what you have to say about it too; otherwise you’re contradicting Him and disconnecting yourself from the source of all blessing. If you’re wise, you will surround yourself with like-minded people who speak God’s Word into your life, and limit your time with those who have no interest in it. If you want to grow the right kind of fruit, you must have the right climate. And the words you speak (and listen to) determine the climate of your life, the direction in which it goes, and the results you get. There is no “secret” to success. The Bible says that when you learn to “meditate day and night” in God’s Word, you “will prosper in all you do” (See Ps 1:1-3). So the answer to your worries is in God’s Word!

Tuesday, May 21

“Discipline your children; you'll be glad you did—they'll turn out delightful to live with.”
Pr 29:17 TM

LAW AND ORDER (1)

We’re producing a generation of kids who are allowed to rear themselves with the aid of television, violent videos, and the Internet (which can be a minefield!). Often both parents work, leaving one child to supervise another. As a result they become a law unto themselves. “A child left to himself disgraces his [parents]” (Pr 29:15 NIV). Most of us are loving parents, but our children need discipline and rules to live by. Love has a backbone; it’s called law and order. Without it, love is just license. “A refusal to correct is a refusal to love” (Pr 13:24 TM). Remember the cute cartoon where Dad, strap in hand, makes disobedient Dennis “assume the position”? He says, “This is going to hurt me more than you.” Dennis responds, “Don’t feel obligated to hurt yourself on my behalf.” Enforcing law and order isn’t easy. But the alternative is a betrayal of our children and our God-given responsibility! Failure to enforce law and order to gain short-term popularity with our kids always ends up costing us their long-term respect. Expecting younger kids to figure out what’s right and wrong is a burden they shouldn’t have to bear; their neurological and moral equipment isn’t sufficiently developed yet for such responsibility. The Bible says, “Young people are prone to foolishness and fads; the cure comes through tough-minded discipline” (Pr 22:15 TM). Your children learn to make good decisions from the rewards and consequences of dealing with law and order at home. So don’t fail them!