Ever feel like you have a purse with holes? Could it have something to do with your priorities? Are your priorities God’s priorities? Or have you put Him on a back-burner? Could He be using your finances or some other circumstance to get your attention?
Also:
Anger can hinder your relationship with God and the people in your life. If you’re struggling with anger, you’ll find some helpful resources in today’s post.
Today’s Readings:
Ezra 5 & 6
Psalm 87.1-7
Proverbs 21.19-20
Acts 23.1-15
Does Your Purse Seem to Have Holes? Could It Be Wrong Priorities?
Ezra 5 & 6:
Are Your Priorities God’s Priorities?
The people who had come back to Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon were, at first, enthusiastic and ready to rebuild the temple. But they had met some resistance and gradually quit doing God’s work. Instead, they simply got busy with their own lives.
God used the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to stir up and rebuke them about their priorities. In Haggai 1, God said:
“Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” Thus says the Lord God of Hosts, “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountain, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord (Hag. 1.5-8).
What about you? Do you need to consider your ways? Are your priorities God’s priorities? Have you gotten “too busy” to be concerned about the things of God? Could that be why you work hard, but everything seems to go into a purse that is full of holes? Could God be using circumstances to get your attention?
To read more about priorities from a biblical perspective, you might check out:
“10 Important Goals & Priorities for Believers”
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 87.1-7:
Everything Comes from Him
Verse 7b says, “All my springs are in you.” Paul said it this way in Acts 17.28, “… in Him we live and move and have our being.” And James 1.17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above … ” (NASB).
God is the source of every talent, every ability, every blessing. Scripture tells us that He even blesses the unrighteous in many ways. The Puritans called it “common grace.” And yet, we are so easily puffed up and become proud of our achievements, our possessions, and even our children. We need to be careful to give God the glory that He and He alone is due!
Proverbs 21.19-20:
Contentious & Angry
In verse 19, God again sees fit to warn us, ladies, that we can easily go from being a blessing to being a curse to our husbands and/or children.
Better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman.
Of course, we women are not the only ones who struggle with anger and it’s just as destructive when it’s you, men.
If you’d like to read more about handling anger biblically, you might check out this series of posts:
- “Handling Anger Biblically” Part 1
- “Handling Anger Biblically” Part 2
- “Handling Anger Biblically” Part 3
Acts 23.1-15:
Religion versus Relationship
In Acts 23, Paul was basically in protective custody, but the religious zealots were still not content. Some banded together agreeing not to eat until Paul was dead and then worked out a plan to bring that to pass.
Such is the way of religious fanaticism! We see it today in Muslim extremists who are willing to blow themselves up in the process of killing their supposed enemies.
The irony is that the very thing these Jewish extremists claimed they wanted to protect, their Jewish purity and heritage, was the very thing that God wanted to use to draw others to Him. Instead, in their pride, they twisted it into an excuse to exclude everyone but themselves.
The devil doesn’t care if people are religious. In fact, he often uses religion to stir up strife, trouble, wars, and all kinds of evil. What he doesn’t want is for you to have a genuine life-changing relationship with Christ, because he knows that has the potential to not only change your life but to draw others to God.
Lord, keep us from religious self-righteousness. Help us to be lights shining out in a dark world. Help us to make Your priorities our priorities and to fulfill what You said were the two greatest commandments—to love You and to love others with Your love in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about loving your enemies, biblical grounds for divorce, the danger of an entitlement attitude, and the importance of contentment and hard work.
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And if you don’t already have a copy, you might want to purchase a copy of my eBook, 10 Benefits of Keeping a Spiritual Journal. It’s available on Kindle or in paperback (the paperback has 31 days of blank journaling pages with prompts to help you get started).
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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