Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #44

Suffering for Doing Good

1 Peter 3

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 9) "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." (v. 17) "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than or doing evil."

My Thoughts

If you're going to suffer or doing good things, or the good that you do gets thrown back in your face, then what's the point? Why not just go along with the crowd and not care about trying to good things or trying to be nice to people or help them? There is a very important reason why you don't want to do that. That reason has to do with the kind of suffering you will have to endure.

When we sin; when we do any kind of evil act, not only do we usually end up answering for it here on Earth, but later on, after we die, we will have to answer to God. To suffer at the hands of men is nothing like the kind of suffering you would endure at the hands of God. God has the power to create life, to take life and to restore it, all in an instant. He is the One we should fear more than any other.

What can you possibly endure at the hands of men? Embarrassment, rejection, insult, injury, betrayal. Worse, torture and even death. Why is this a better consequence? These things only affect us as we are alive in this world. Death, obviously, cannot be recovered from, though afterward, when we die, we can spend eternity with God in heaven. If we value a good life over a God life, we will likely spend eternity apart from God. That is not at all what we want.

Even though people may hurt you in someway, always try to be the bigger person. Do not retaliate to them, do not grow spiteful and do not seek vengeance. God does not promise a good life or an easy life, but He promises eternal life. We need only accept His Son Jesus and follow in His ways. Any kind of suffering we face in life should be for Him, just as His suffering on the cross was for us.

No matter what evil you face in life, if you are following God and you are faithful to Him, your suffering is not in vain. You don't have to let people walk all over you; stand up for yourself always, but be respectful and do so with the love of God. By you standing up for yourself in this way, people will see that you are strong, and also that you are respectful and they may just see Jesus in you. Defend yourself for sure, but do not fight back; do not do what they do. Let your words and your actions in those situations show who you are in Christ.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #43

God Keeps His Word

1 Kings 15

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 3-5) "He (Abijah) committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord's commands all the days of his life--except in the case of Uriah the Hittite."

My Thoughts

God made a promise to David that he would never fail to have a son on the throne. We see in these verses that God's promise to David was kept. Even when there was an evil king, God gave him a son to succeed him as king. Sometimes, though the father did evil in God's eyes, the son did the opposite and did what was right in God's eyes. The children do not always follow in the footsteps of their parents.

The promises that God makes to us are always kept. He never fails, no matter what. God's love is unconditional and no matter what we do, have done or ever will do can ever take His love away from us. Neither the promises that He makes to us. God's word is always true, and never does He deceive us.

Even though David committed adultery with Uriah's wife and had Uriah killed to cover it up, God kept his word to him. David was not perfect; none of us are or ever can be. David's heart was fully committed to God and that is what matters. Asa, who succeeded Abijah, had a heart that was fully committed to God as well. Even though Asa did not remove the high places, he still did what was right in God's eyes.

Because God keeps His word to us, we need to do the same. If you make a promise or a vow to God, you had better keep it. Be very careful to keep any promise you make to God or any vow. I would advise against doing this because it can cause a lot of problems for you. You know that God will keep His end of it, so you need to ensure that you keep your end. That is why we need to be careful not to bargain with God. We are likely to fail to keep it and that will cost us. There will be consequences, especially spiritually.

Remember, any promise that God makes to you, He will keep it without fail. Every single promise you find from Him in the Bible, or even if it is a personal experience for you, will not fail. Trust in that and have faith in Him. Remember as well to be careful about making promises, especially to God. Don't make promises you can't keep.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #42

Devotion

Ezra 7

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 10) "For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel." 

My Thoughts

Ezra devoted himself to studying and teaching God's word. He was a leader in this field and King Artaxerxes looked up to him. Artaxerxes sent Ezra a letter telling him to continue to teach God's laws and he even gave Ezra permission to request up to a certain amount of valuable resources like olive oil and wheat. God's hand was on Ezra in this regard.

If you want to be recognized as a top (INSERT POSITION HERE) then you need to devote yourself to it. For example, to be a top athlete, you need to train and practice often. The point is that you need to work hard and put a lot of time into what you want you want to be. You need to devote yourself to doing what it is you want to ultimately do in your life. The more you work at something, practice it, and the more time you spend on it, the better you'll get with it and the more you'll be recognized for it.

Of course, your aim with any of that should never be for recognition or fame or wealth. When I said the more you'll be recognized, I mean only in the position. If you are a CEO of a company, that is what you'll be recognized as. Not all of us can be teachers of God's laws, though for some, that is their calling, but that doesn't mean that God can't use you as an artist or an athlete or anything else. Sometimes, what you choose to devote yourself to isn't anything to do with your career.

Make sure that what you devote your life to is really what you want and that you are diligent in it. You don't want to devote your entire life to something you are not truly happy with or that you never grow from. If it is totally a fruitless venture, then that means that your life was devoted to something that was a waste. I will not give any examples because one thing that works for one person may not work for another. God may call one of you to be a writer and use you spectacularly, while another may try that and fail to prosper in it because they are called to a singer. It is different for everybody.

All that being said, it is still very important that we learn God's word and keep reading and studying it. Always remember to make time to talk to God and to listen to His voice. Whatever it is that you are being called to do, start heading in that direction. It is still not too late, but one day it may be.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!