Gas Up Your Tank!!!!

Well it’s a new year and everyone is making resolutions!  I guess that is normal, a new start does casue us to think about what we wish we had not done in the previous year or maybe done better, and that leads to promises.  May I suggest a really important promise to head your list?

I want my spiritual condition to supercede all other conditions.  This morning Dr. Charles Stanley’s In touch Daily Devotional was the very answer I was looking for, please allow me to share it and then make a few closing comments.

Proverbs 3:1-4

Jesus Christ told His disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit” (John 15:5). As we carry out the Lord’s plans through the power of His Spirit, our lives will have significance, and two practices will characterize us.

 1. Treasuring God’s Word in our hearts. When we value something, we think about it often, study it regularly, and learn all we can about it. By studying the Bible, we learn many important things about our God, including His character, plan, and promises. Regular Scripture meditation develops our ability to think biblically and deepens our relationship with the Lord. One of the indications that we treasure His Word is a change in behavior: Decisions will increasingly be guided by His principles, and actions will reflect the fruit of the Spirit. (See Gal. 5:22-23.)

2. Adorning ourselves with kindness and truth. These two virtues are to be our constant companions on the Christian walk. God’s truth has the power to expose ungodly attitudes and behaviors. When this happens, the presence of kindness helps to protect relationships from damage; it can also prevent discord and division in churches. The Lord wants us to speak the truth to one another—but to temper it with loving compassion.

The Christian life is a journey filled with temptations, obstacles, and difficulties that are common to man (1 Peter 4:12). At the same time, it is to be characterized by the fruitfulness that comes from following Jesus Christ, our guide.

How can I display that fruit in my life?  First the study of God’s Word shows us who Jesus was, how He acted, what He did and What He said.  We simply follow that example.

Let me share a simple way to show His love, His compassion, and His forgiveness.  I was in the grocery store during Christmas weekend and I was in line when an old lady pushed her cart in after mine, I had a lot of items and she only had a few and I couldn’t help but notice she was counting her meager funds to be sure she had enough to pay for her few items.  They were two thirds through scanning mine so I leaned in to the clerk and said, “add hers to my bill please.” I was pushing my filled cart out of the way when she found out hers were covered, she walked over and said  “thank you young man!”  I said being called a young man was worth far more than that!  She said again thank you, why did you do that?  I said, “well you know, I’ve been celebrating a very special birthday of a man who loves me and you very much, he asked me to do it, for Him.”  She looked puzzled, I said  “have great day, Jesus loves you, and Merry Christmas!”  The look on her face was worth a hundred dollars worth of groceries.  It feels great to offer a random act of kindeness, it’s what He did every day, and what we need to learn how to do too!  Trust me, it’s worth it!

If we follow His lead every day in every situation we will have a richer life and make others lives richer too, give it a try!!

Blessings,

the pilgrim