Pocket Thoughts - 7/19/24

God * establishes peace for His people * has done for us all that we have accomplished * is the Spirit of justice.

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To live in contentment is to swim upstream in our culture. The pursuit of wealth can easily consume, corrode, and corrupt us. Hoarding our riches ultimately leads to misery and God’s judgment. Submit all of your resources to Him, and use them to bless and care for others – especially the poor. Frequently evaluate your standard of living. Are you living for yourself or for the Lord? How you spend your money will reveal the answer. – TV

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God may speak to you from an unexpected source – just as He spoke to Moses from a burning bush. He may use other people, experiences or thoughts placed in your mind by His Holy Spirit. Check that counsel against the truth of Scripture, and thank God for His provision of wisdom and instruction. – TV

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Father, I’m grateful for the nudge of Your Spirit when I find myself far from You. That slow drift of one small distraction after another almost imperceptibly draws me away from the Spring of Living Water – until by Your grace I come to my senses, parched and dry. Prone to wander from Your love, quick to forget Your patience, oblivious to my own unfaithfulness…I round the corner and find you standing with a full cup of refreshing mercy in Your outstretched hands and with tenderness in Your eyes. Truly, Lord, Your “kindness is intended to lead (me) to repentance.” (Romans 2:4b) May I properly grieve my waywardness – for I have walked away from You. May I sincerely repent of it – for a turnaround is necessary. May I heartily embrace Your promised forgiveness – for You paid my penalty with Your very life. May I grasp the depth of “the riches of (Your) kindness, forbearance, and patience” (Romans 2:4a) – for You have saved me. May I sing songs of gratitude and worship to my good God – for You are worthy. You are my Life. You revive me from my spiritual thirst, and I praise You in the beautiful Name of Jesus, amen.

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Occult practices are tools of the enemy. Although they may duplicate some parts of God’s work, their aim is to lead people away from Him. While we marvel at God’s true miracles, we should never let them be the basis for our faith. His Word is our guide and our standard for truth. All true miracles glorify God and align with His character as revealed in His Word. – TV

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“God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.” – Oswald Chambers

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“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” – John 3:16-21