Sufficient

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. (Proverbs 15:16 ESV)

I pray that God will give me just enough so that I will never be tempted to gain by sinful measures. If it doesn't come from Him it is not a blessing.

I have learned throughout my lifetime that God will supply for me. I may wonder how it will happen and I often wonder how much longer it will take, but He has never failed me. 

He gives me just as much as I need.

Because He has done this time and again, I have learned to trust and believe that He will continue to do so. I respect His provision. I respect when It doesn't come. He is so good, all the time.

I have never owned great treasure, at least by worldly standards. But I have seen greed, envy, covetness, jealousy, desire, and stinginess. I don't like those things. And if God gives me more than I need, could I evolve into someone that produces those bad fruits?

Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord ?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:8, 9 ESV)

Give me this day my DAILY BREAD.

What's in a name?

Do you know what your name means? My name, Rhonda, means "strong river."

I don't know exactly what that is supposed to mean. Maybe I never stay in one place, that is true. Maybe I am a great force, yeah, I would like to go with that one. Maybe I cause those near me to have to pee, lol. Maybe I'm just all wet.

I know names are significant. I know most mean something. I know parents really agonize sometimes over choosing a name.

And I know how much the name Jesus means to me. It is the sweetest name I know.

What does the name Jesus mean to you today?

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10 NIV)

Bear burdens

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 ESV)

I believe that a burden shared with another seems lighter even if the other person does nothing to aid the situation. Just the simple act of "telling" someone what troubles you, will lighten your burden.

And if the other person prays for you, touches your hand or arm, and shows genuine concern, it feels like wonderful medicine.

Plus, the other person is also blessed by "helping."

I think that it is truly robbing yourself and someone else of a blessing by NOT sharing your burden.

Can you over share? Yes, I also believe that you can share too many details when maybe just a vague request will do. However, I, personally, am not a fan of unspoken requests because I don't know if the request is in the Lord's will.

So how do you know how much to share and with whom?

It depends on the nature of your relationship with the other person and how much they need to know to pray for you.

Gone out

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 ESV)

Who is being spoken to here? And what is meant by "every spirit?"

There is a cute little video going around social media of a family that is trying to get healthy. Good idea right? We all need to do this. 

So they get a nutritionist to come in and she is purging the cupboards and refrigerator of all unhealthy foods.

The young son has the last straw when she throws out the bacon, ( a man after my own heart.) and he packs his little ole suitcase on wheels and says that he is running away until after Saturday when she is gone. In the end you see him pulling his little suitcase, walking down the street, mumbling to himself as he goes.

Like I said, it is cute. But it has similarities to our verse today that are just not cute.

John is writing to a community church that has been a little confused about the identity of Who Jesus really is. Apparently some former members of this church were doing the confusing. They wanted to be Followers yet they were also enamored by the world, the Roman Empire in particular. 

So there was some slight falsehoods and misconceptions sown in among the truth. These ones are the "ones" that John wrote about earlier in Chapter two as "those that went out from us."

You see, it isn't fun to be corrected and disciplined. They couldn't take it, so they left, probably grumbling as they went.

It doesn't take much falsehood to dilute the truth. How do you test these spirits? By standing them up next to God's word. If His word says it, do it. No one can change God's word to suit them and pick and choose certain verses to live by, leaving out the rest.

Know God's word and do not forsake it for the world.

Anger

Being angry is not a sin. Carrying it around, holding onto it is the sin.

I get angry. I get upset. And I have boiled my insides by being angry without effectively dealing with it. 

Many times carrying around hot anger burns only me, and the offender isn't even aware. What good is that?

I am by no means an expert on effectively dealing with anger but one thing that I do know, if you tell the other person that you are upset and ask if they are willing to discuss the problem, you will instantly feel somewhat better. Even if they are not willing, you know that you have thrown the ball into their court and now it is on them and not you.

But if you can sit down with someone, (the car is a great place or a restaurant) calmly state your true feelings and why you feel hurt, and then LISTEN TO THE OTHER PERSON as they speak their heart, it will go a long way toward having peace.

Sometimes people will ignore you or not want to hear you. I have found that the best response to that is: Well, I feel hurt and would like to discuss it with you when you are willing.

Holding onto anger builds resentments and grudges.