Source: https://thisyearsbiblereadingguide.com/tag/stevenfurtick-com/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 18:40:57+00:00

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March 27, 2019: 1 Kings 20, 21; 2 Chronicles 17.
I knew I shouldn’t, but I did.
I was finishing lunch and saw the Spider Solitaire icon. I clicked on it – again.
I had already lost 3 games and moved on to reading email. But I went back and got sucked in for another half hour.
I couldn’t spare 30 minutes. I finished my tasks but did not have time to practice. It was late when I cleaned up. I dried my hair using the van air vents on the way to church.
I wanted to say the devil made me do it. But I learned this morning that it’s not the devil.
Do I take one thing at a time?
Do I stay alert? Do I build up my defenses, know my capabilities, and see what needs to be done?
Do I evaluate my generals? Are my banker, insurance agents, and investment advisor, working for my best interest? Or theirs? Do they fight for me to win or are they satisfied with the status quo? Are they leaders or experienced soldiers.
Do I make rash decisions? Or take the time to weigh the pros and cons?
Do I stay focused? Or do I get distracted and work on other things?
Do I protect the important things? Or sacrifice the important for the unimportant?
Do I have a good defense system? Do I have the right insurance? Do I have enough or too much? When was the last time I evaluated it?
What am I going to do? I can’t tell you!
My sister complained to that social media platform because she couldn’t see my posts. They forwarded the message to me.
One person said, “That is offensive” and they removed the post. Then they threatened to disable my account.
Another person said, “I want to see this!” and they forwarded the message to me? Why? Do they want me to promote my post? Do they want me to buy an ad? Probably.
But I learned from Samson’s story – complying when threatened does not work. They may carry out the threat anyway.
His fiancée complied and lost Samson. Then they burned her and her father alive anyway.
Forget social media. I would rather be in isolation than allow them to control me.
Do you feel isolated? Without hope?
I say the number of followers does not matter. I block the number on my blog. No one sees it. I hadn’t even checked it since last summer. But I was curious since I disconnected from that social media outlet.
I lost over 96% of my followers. Discouraged, I wasted an hour playing Spider Solitaire.
That convicted me. I know playing game after game of Spider is just fooling around.
We finished the series, “The Condition of Your Soul,” on Wednesday night. I knew I had to get a handle on my emotions. Steven Furtick provided just the word I needed.
How do you get out of the doldrums?
We all have storms in our lives. We are either going through a storm, coming out of a storm, or a storm is around the corner.
At our Thanksgiving Service, people gave testimonies. Deb shared about her fight with cancer. One thing she said was she didn’t talk to people about her diagnosis. She spoke to the area the Word of God. In less than a month the doctor told her they couldn’t find the mass. You can hear the service here.
That is the name of the song we are learning.
“Lord, I come with newfound faith.
I will trust ev’ry word You say.
All my fears I’m laying down at Your feet.
Walk through the fire and not be burned.
All my doubts have lost their sound to Your voice.
The God of the impossible.
Use my life to fulfill Your plan.
All I have I give to You, an offering.
Still my heart will sing.
In the city, v. 3.
In the country, v. 3.
On my children, v. 4.
On my crops, v. 4.
On the young of my livestock, v. 4.
On the calves of my herds, v. 4.
On the lambs of my flocks, v. 4.
On my basket and bread bowls, v. 5.
When I come in, v. 6.
When I go out, v. 6.
My attackers will come on one road and flee on seven, v. 7.
On my barns, v. 8.
In my workplace, v. 8.
On my land, v. 8.
God will make me holy, v. 9.
All people will hold me in respect, v. 10.
God will lavish me with good things, v. 11.
God will pour rain on the land on schedule, v. 12.
God will bless my work, v. 12.
I will lend to others, v. 12.
I will not need to borrow, v. 12.
God will make me the head, not the tail, v. 13.
I listen obediently to Your Voice. I heartily obey Your commands. I respond to Your Voice. All of these blessings are mine – especially # ___ and #___. This storm has to ‘be still’ at Your Word.
What verse do you pray over your storms?
At the top of several pages of my sermon notes is one word – “testimonials.” In the middle of a sermon, #God would nudge me and whisper, “Make a testimonials page.” I would write the note and plan on doing it the next day. Then I procrastinated.
Listening to Steven Furtick’s “1:Minute Motivation” jolted me. There was that word – procrastination.
I had put every other task ahead of the assignment #God gave me. I repented and pulled up the one testimonial I had copied.
Over the next four hours, I read every comment on my blog and LinkedIn. Then I went to my Facebook page and read the comments there.
I typed the comments and the title of the post. I added the name and job of those I knew. I noted where the comment was from and the date. Then I added links to each post. As I published the page, I realized, procrastination is an idol – it’s putting other things before God.
I learned something else, too. I thought the phrase “punishing the children to the third and fourth generation” meant God punished them for their parent’s sins. That is not necessarily so.
God punishes children for sins they commit. They may justify them because their parents did the same thing.
However, sin has consequences. Unfortunately, children suffer the consequences right along with their parents. These consequences are for unrepentant people who hate God. There’s a promise for those who repent and love God.
Have you completed a task you procrastinated over? How do you defeat procrastination?
We took the family to “Appanoose Rapids” to celebrate Derek’s birthday. Olivia, 7, brought a doll that poops! She tired of holding it. I offered to put it in the booth beside me. I misjudged the space and bonked the doll’s head on the table.
“Good job, great-grandma,” Laura quipped.
When Olivia has a child I will be a great-grandma. That was a sobering thought.
I started feeling self-pity. Why do they tease me about my age?
After eating, we debated about going to Kohls. I wanted to see if they had a space heater on sale. I spend most of the day in my office. I could just heat it.
But everyone was tired. We went home.
David always says “no” to me.
Nobody cares about what I need.
I always have to go without.
As a child, I was miserable most of the time. I was itchy, bleeding, and in pain with my clothes stuck to the Atopic Dermatitis. It tormented me day and night. I was sleep-deprived. And children are cruel. Self-pity was a constant companion.
I could justify self-pity. But I know it does not please God.
Have I allowed self-pity to become an idol in my life? It is a habitual reaction. It’s one I need to bury.
Do you struggle with self-pity? How did you overcome it? How can we share empathy without giving pity to one in pain?
Those three names had the same result as “Atten-hut” or “Attention.” Usually, it meant it was time to eat. I always happily responded to that command. I knew Mom’s voice and she knew mine.
Isaac knew Esau and Jacob’s voices, too. He was waiting to give Esau his “firstborn blessing.” (The firstborn was given twice as much as the other children. They called it a double portion.) He knew it was Jacob and gave him an opportunity to come clean.
Jacob tricked Isaac into giving him the “firstborn blessing.” Isaac was human and human fathers make mistakes.
But our Heavenly Father does not. He knows my name. He knows my voice. He reserved a blessing for me alone.
Share a time when God heard your voice and answered. Have you ever heard God call your name? Or did your Mom use a nickname to call you? Did you like that nickname?
Two members of my immediate family went to the doctor this week. They both received life-changing news.
I moved on to studying Proverbs 13. One of the cross-references for verse 24 was Hebrews 12:7.
The Message version made this verse and passage clearer.
These hardships are training. Discipline is not punishment. Another definition of discipline is an “area of study” or “specialty.” God’s purpose is training us in the “specialty” for which He created us.
As always, Steven Furtick’s “1:Minute Motivation” was on point.
Does this mean I can stay in bed?
I have a choice. I can sing the blues or wait for God to make my dry branches green.
God is not in the business of making me happy. He’s in the business of making me holy.
Remember Who God is and everything He is doing will bring honor.
I cannot act based on how I feel.
Am I breaking God’s law – eating healthily, drinking water, rest?
Look for the blessings in the clouds.
Keep struggling and God will show me His strength.

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