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Gleanings From The Word

Category: devotional

  • Issue 1657 – Lifestyle – January 27, 2025

    Issue 1657 – Lifestyle – January 27, 2025

    Luxury car parked in front of mansion

    There is a school of Christian thought out there that teaches that  being a Christian is a guaranteed path to health, wealth, happiness, and success. They use a variety of proof texts (often out of context) to “prove” their points and pass the blame on to you for not having enough faith if it does not work. 

    This is unbiblical teaching. It is a lie straight from the pit of hell, and it smells like smoke.

    For the time is coming when people will not endure sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4

    Now, do not misunderstand me. God still heals today when it is in accordance with his will. There is joy in being a Christian (although not always what the world calls “happiness). For some people, God’s plan includes wealth and what the world would consider success. Yet none of that is guaranteed, and the fact that you may or may not have those things is not a measure of your faith.

    Being a Christian may bring trials. There will be times of walking in the desert. 

    Believers are called to give sacrificially and love people they do not like. We are called to be bearers of truth even when the truth is unpopular. It is a counter-cultural lifestyle that has little to do with “self” and self-aggrandizement. It has everything to do with our relationship with God and others.

    What should a Christian’s walk be like? To what aims should they be aspiring?

    Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:9-21

    That kind of life will bring a deeper joy than the superficial happiness of financial wealth and worldly success.

    Being a Christian is not a plan for ease. It is a plan for personal and spiritual growth. It is a way of life that puts others ahead of you.

    If it is not all ease and prosperity, why do we pursue it? Simply put, a personal relationship with Jesus is better than everything the world offers. That relationship will continue even beyond death. It will still be there when this earth is long gone. 

    Ironically, in pursuing a life of meeting the needs of others through Christ, you will come to your full potential and have your own needs met in ways you cannot imagine.

    Until next time, may you pursue the love of Christ and allow Him to envelop you.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word

    Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

    Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.

    __________________________________________ 

    Did you know that we have an email version? It has the same great content but in a different format.

    Subscribe today: https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/gleanings-1 

    For an archive of many back issues, visit our website at https://gleaningsfromtheword.com.

    © 2025 Gleanings From the Word, K.F. “Kevin” Corbin. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

  • Issue 1656 – Tagged – January 25, 2025

    Issue 1656 – Tagged – January 25, 2025

    Gafittied "tagged" train car



     
    We sat at the railroad crossing for hours (actually, it was probably about 20 minutes, but it seemed longer). Whenever we thought the train must be nearly finished crossing, it would back up as cars were shuttled.


    As the cars shuttled back and forth, I read the graffiti sprayed on the sides by various “taggers.” As usual, the graffiti displayed a wide range of artistic ability, from near masterpieces to hastily scrawled initials and from the sublime to the profane. While I certainly do not approve of vandals who paint on buildings, signs, and railroad cars, their work broke my heart.


    More than anything else, I believe that tagging is a deep and pain-filled cry from the depths of the soul. It screams out, “I was here! Notice me! It cries out, “My life needs significance. I want to leave a legacy.”


    The deepest need of any person is to find love, acceptance, and purpose. All these things are fulfilled through Christ. The best that the world can offer is some small portion of each. Much that the world provides fails completely. It offers lust instead of love. Acceptance is based on socio-economic criteria that change. It offers lies and myths, smoke and mirrors instead of true purpose.


    It is no wonder that people cry out for help, even if they do not recognize it as a cry. There is a vast pool of hurting people out there. They have bought into the world’s lies and are chasing the wind. They have found the lies to be false and dropped out of society. They are attracted to cults and false religions by the tens of thousands.


    In their pain, people turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, food, and anything else that might take the edge off for a while. Suicide is at epidemic proportions in all age groups, particularly among the young.


    These people need the things that only Jesus can provide. The mandate of the church is to take the truth to a lost and hurting world (Matthew 28:16-0)


    We do that with mixed effectiveness. Too often, though, the church becomes a little safe place for Christians to gather. We do not want our group disturbed by the hurting, the lost, and those seeking the truth who do not fit the comfortable mold of our congregation. In our hearts, we would be just as glad if “those people” went somewhere else.


    James admonishes us not to do that.


    My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  James 2:1-4


    How well does your congregation react when someone who does not fit comes in? How is your heart towards the stranger who comes seeking?


    The world is full of desperate and lost people. If we do not welcome them with the love of Jesus, Satan is more than willing to lure them to their eternal destruction through the cults.


    Until next time, may your heart be prepared to welcome the lost.


    Be blessed


    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 
    Kevin


    Gleanings From The Word
    Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 
    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)


    Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
    __________________________________________ 
     
    Did you know that we have an email version? It has the same great content but in a different format.


    Subscribe today: https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/gleanings-1 


    For an archive of many back issues, visit our website at https://gleaningsfromtheword.com.


    © 2025 Gleanings From the Word, K.F. “Kevin” Corbin. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.