Wonderful
This morning I downloaded Joyce Meyer Ministries from the App Store and began listening while I entered invoices into our accounting software system at work. I have always enjoyed Joyce and found her preaching to be right on the mark. (Others may not agree, but my blog is not the place for a debate. If you aren’t a fan of Joyce Meyer, you are welcome to move right along to another site.)
Today’s message was Part 1 of Loving Difficult People. We all have difficult people in our lives we are forced to deal with, whether it’s an irritating coworker or someone known for smarting off at you every chance they get. We can leave our place of employment or attempt to avoid the offender at all cost but there is no getting away from difficult people as we will continue to encounter them all throughout our lives. The challenge here is to LOVE them even while they are being difficult. Whew. This is not a small task at times, is it?
Here’s a thought – maybe WE are even someone else’s “difficult person.” How’s that for taking a step back and locking eyes with the person in the mirror. Hmmm. It gives us something to think about, doesn’t it?
The thing is to love the person, even when they are being difficult or hard to get along with. Maybe give yourself some time to analyze why they are being difficult in certain situations. While we can’t read someone else’s mind and know their heart, we can try to put ourselves in their shoes from time to time.
Something Joyce said this morning in her message moved me to jot it down on my yellow legal pad I keep on my desk for notes.
“You can feel like doing the wrong thing and still choose to do the right thing.” Joyce Meyer
Let’s be honest. When someone cuts you off in traffic, there are times you might want to give them the one finger wave when they look back in the rearview mirror at you. We have all felt rage well up inside of us, but we can choose NOT to let it take charge. Because we are human, we want to get back at them, but because we are Christians, we are to love them even when they do such things to us. You have free will, so of course you could rage at them. However, it takes a much stronger person to choose to extend grace to them.
We truly don’t know what people are going through in their lives to know why they act the way they do. Some may have just had a hard day at work or maybe even received bad news. Maybe they aren’t really thinking of cutting you off at all. They could just be in their own heads due to the information they learned through a disturbing phone call and the vehicle moves over into your lane giving the appearance of just down right being ugly to you when that wasn’t their intent at all.
It’s so easy to jump to conclusions on why this person was being difficult with you. It is much harder to extend grace and act in love. The choice is yours, and doing the right thing will leave you feeling wonderful in the end.
Think about this the next time you want to have a knee jerk reaction.
Write 28 Days
My beautiful friend, Anita, has inspired me to join her “Write 28 Days” challenge. It is extremely beneficial to take time for yourself and rewarding when you have a sense of accomplishment after having done something you have a passion for. If writing is your thing, we encourage you to join in!
For more information, click here!
TEXT
If your first thought upon seeing the word “TEXT” is that of a teenager sitting in the family room on their phone while the adults are deep in conversation, think again! Allow me to tell you about the new hip “TEXT” which is short for:
T-alk to God
E-ncounter God and humanity in Scripture
eX-amine your heart
T-alk to others
Ah, now we’re talking, and we’ll be getting down with the B-I-B-L-E! Yea, that’s the book for me … and you .. and every believer … whether you’re a student, young adult, or new in your walk with the Lord. Honestly, any experience-level reader will want to use this new TEXT Bible every day as it encourages you to keep the four-step TEXT study method in mind.
Much to my surprise, my husband was the first to pick up the TEXT Bible and start going through it as he exclaimed, “Wow … cool!”
Within this book, you will find answers to big life questions, and there are close to 100 short devotions regarding the person and character of God. If you struggle while reading the Scriptures, there are brief explanations of people and events found within to help you better understand. Brief definitions can be found of important words that will help give a better understanding so we can discuss Scriptures with others. A feature I especially love is the ability to navigate the Bible across various topics.
Prayer is something I wanted to touch on as well, as often new believers find it hard to form the “right” words when they go to the Lord in prayer. While there is no right or wrong way to pray, the TEXT may help you be able to pray God’s words right back to Him. If we tuck His word away in our hearts, no one will ever be able to take that from us. What’s more, we will be able to claim these things as we begin our prayer to God. “By YOUR stripes we are healed, Lord …” you might exclaim as you are praying over a sick or wounded loved one. That is just one example that came immediately to mind.
The TEXT is specifically for anyone interested in becoming confident in engaging Scripture, as it connects Scripture to all of life. Michael and Hayley DiMarco have done an excellent job as general editors, with this being their third Bible project.
With the TEXT, you don’t feel talked down to at all, but instead, it teaches who God is and how to engage with Scripture. Most importantly, it equips you by teaching you how to have a personal relationship with God.
As we prepare for Valentine’s Day next month, we have a deal for you! If you order before Valentine’s Day, you will get 50% off your copy of The NET TEXT Bible! Visit the website to learn more. We encourage you to have a closer walk with the Lord in this new year, and what better way than diving into His word and drawing nearer to Him as you continue your relationship with Him?
Disclosure: Many thanks to Harper Collins Christian Publishing for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.
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