August 29, 2020 8:00 pm
Recently I read through a stack of World War II-era letters my dad sent to my mother. He was in North Africa and she was in West Virginia. Dad, a second lieutenant in the US Army, was tasked with censoring soldiers’ letters—keeping sensitive information from enemy eyes. So it was rather humorous to see—on the outside of his letters to his wife—a stamp that said, “Censored by 2nd Lt. John Branon.” Indeed, he had cut out lines from his own letters!
Self-censoring is really a good idea for all of us. Several times in Scripture, the writers mention the importance of taking a good long look at ourselves to find what’s not right—not God-honoring. The psalmist, for example, prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24). Jeremiah put it like this: “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40). And Paul, speaking of our heart condition at the time of communion, said, “Everyone ought to examine themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:28).
The Holy Spirit can help us turn from any attitudes or actions that don’t please God. So before we head out into the world today, let’s stop and seek the Spirit’s help in doing some self-checking so we can “return to the Lord” in fellowship with Him.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled, Self-Checking, was written by Dave Brannan. Recently, I read through a stack of World War II era letters my dad sent to my mother.
He was in North Africa and she was in West Virginia. Dad, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was tasked with censoring soldiers' letters, keeping sensitive information from enemy eyes. So it was rather humorous to see, on the outside of his letters to his wife, a stamp that said, Censored by Second Lieutenant John Brannan.
Indeed, he had cut out lines from his own letters. Self-censoring is really a good idea for all of us. Several times in Scripture, the writers mentioned the importance of taking a good long look at ourselves to find what's not right, not God-honoring. The psalmist, for example, prayed, Jeremiah put it like this in Lamentations 3, Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. And Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11, speaking of our heart condition at the time of communion, said, Everyone ought to examine themselves. The Holy Spirit can help us turn from any attitudes or actions that don't please God. So before we head out into the world today, let's stop and seek the Spirit's help in doing some self-checking so we can return to the Lord and fellowship with Him. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional Scripture reading is from Lamentations 3, verses 37 through 42. Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
Why should the living complain when punished for their sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven and say, We have sinned and rebelled, and You have not forgiven. Let's pray. Loving Father, help us to do what the psalmist says and examine our hearts and our ways and make sure that we are pleasing in Your sight. Forgive us when we wrong You, and may we be encouraged to make any changes we need to make as we seek to know You more and serve You better. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-03-18 15:40:51 / 2024-03-18 15:42:16 / 1