Saturday, December 21, 2024
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Little Things Can Lead to Big Success or Big Headaches

I am always amazed at how disciplined wrestlers are. They say no to the goodies brought to class for birthdays and only eat a small portion of huge holiday meals. Wrestlers watch every item that goes into their mouth and weigh the pros and cons of each bite when cutting weight to qualify for their weight class. Then, after the season ends, they go back to a less regimented lifestyle.

As Christians, do we guard our hearts with such care or do we only do it for a short period? Do we watch every item that enters our ears, eyes, and minds? There are so many things in this world that we could live without. Not everything seems bad, but the bigger question is, “Is it good?” If it is not bringing us closer in our relationship with Jesus, then it is taking us away from Him (James 4:4,8).

Little Things Need Big Attention

pornographyIs this a movie I would be comfortable watching with Him (God) sitting next to me, or music I would listen to with Him, or a book that I would read with Him? If not, then it is probably not something I need to do.

Life is full of choices every day. Someone once told me that I didn’t need to pray about every little thing, but that’s not true. God wants us to pray about everything, even the little things. It is those little things that we ignore that can slowly take us farther away from the person He wants us to be.

What if those wrestlers ate everything that wasn’t high in calories? It would still eventually add up to a lot of calories. The same is true for our small choices. They can be our success or downfall.

Today, I challenge you to really pay attention to everything around you that influences your life, your thoughts, and your relationship with Jesus. Then, fill your mind with things that honor God. In the end, you will be blessed and He will be glorified. Think about it.

So, What’s The Play Call?

  1. Is there something in your life that is keeping you from drawing closer to God?
  2. What can you do to make it easier to make good choices?
  3. In your life, do you have people who can be good sounding boards or can help you down the right path?

 

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HIGHLIGHTS

They Changed Their Minds about Slavery and Left a Bible Record

Two businessmen’s unusual conversion in 1700s South Carolina led them to liberate the people they put in bondage. At first glance, William Turpin and his business partner, Thomas Wadsworth, appeared to be like most other prestigious and powerful white men in late 18th-century South Carolina. They were successful Charleston merchants, had business interests across the state, got involved in state politics, and enslaved numerous human beings. Nothing about them seemed out of the ordinary. But, quietly, these two men changed their minds about slavery. They became committed abolitionists and worked to free dozens of enslaved people across South Carolina. When most wealthy, white Carolinians were increasingly committed to slavery and defending it as a Christian institution, Turpin and Wadsworth were compelled by their convictions to break the shackles they had placed on dozens of men and women. In an era when the Bible was edited so that enslaved people wouldn’t get the idea that God cared about their freedom, Turpin left a secret record of emancipation in a copy of the Scriptures, which is now in the South Carolina State Museum. Perhaps it’s not surprising that this story of faith and freedom is mostly unknown. The two men were, after all, working not to attract attention. Neither had deep roots in Charleston or close familial ties to its storied white “planter” dynasties. Turpin’s family was originally from Rhode Island, and Wadsworth was a native of Massachusetts who moved to South Carolina only shortly after the American Revolution. Both had public careers and served in the South Carolina Legislature, but their political profiles were not particularly high. Neither of them appeared to give any of their legislative colleagues the sense that they were developing strong, countercultural opinions on one of the most ...Continue reading...

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