November 15

Ezekiel 31:1-32:32, Hebrews 12:14-29, Psalm 113:1-114:8, Proverbs 27:18-20

Pray: Thanksgiving and praise are exercise for my inner man, the real me, just as jogging or walking is exercise for my outer man, the part of me that will one day pass away. Lord, I don’t question for a minute the value of exercise for my physical body. Why then do I question the need for thanksgiving and praise to keep my inner man in shape? I Cor. 15 says first the natural and then the spiritual. Help me to understand just how much I need to worship.

Read: Hebrews 12:14 tells us that living in peace is WORK and living a holy life is WORK. The great enemy of living in peace with your neighbor is your tongue. The great enemy of living a holy life is bitterness. We need to WORK at being SLOW to speak. We need to WORK at being QUICK to forgive.

Edify: When we are talking we are not listening. What would happen if you actually let someone talk until they had nothing more to say? You would be shocked at how much they felt you valued them even though you said nothing at all. When we don’t forgive quickly we end up imprisoned by what the other person said or did. Forgiveness keeps us clean. It benefits us instantly. And it prevents the disease of hurt and hatred from destroying others. Forgiveness “saves”….but you already knew that!

Practice: Practice listening. Listening isn’t always easy when you have something you really want to say. But having something you really want to say or “get off your chest” is the surest sign that you should take time to listen before speaking. A great listener asks questions and then enters the “silent zone” until the person asked a question finishes talking. Practice forgiveness by giving to or blessing the person you forgave. Giving and blessing cause forgiveness to take hold.