Devotional Life Stay the Course

 

Devotional Life

Stay the Course

How do we stay the course?

We spend time daily listening for God’s voice

Remember devotional time is love and loyalty  

In Psalms 37 we see the course of a life that ends well

Verse 23 tells us why it ends well

If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm;

 

Verse 24 says though he stumble,

he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

 

Staying the course comes as we bring delight to the Lord

Verse 25 says I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

 

Over the test of time you will see that delighting the Lord

Will bring you the greatest reward

Spend devotional time with Him

Be in His Word and in tune with His Spirit

And you will finish your course with eternal life

 

 

Stay the Course

 

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil

as an offering to the LORD.

Genesis 4:2-4

 

“In the course of time.”

 

“The process of time.”

 

“After Time.”

 

What happens over a period of time?

 

Over the course of time Cain’s path

was different then his brother’s Abel.

 

The world was not so complicated as it is now.

 

There was only one family

and no influence from neighbors.

 

I think I would have liked Cain…

 

 He seemed to be a hard worker,

tilling the earth as God required,

and I love vegetables.

  

But I think I would have liked Abel…

 

Because I like a little meat with my potatoes.

 

I think God liked both brothers, as well.

 

But over time something happened

 that changed the course of Cain.

 

Over the course of time, you and I will

have a lot more influences then Cain and Abel.

 

We will navigate through the voices of millions…

 

Pressures and conveniences, Cain

and Abel would never understand.

 

But just like Cain and Abel, every

thought affects the course after time.

 

Some thoughts make big changes.

 

 While others make small changes.

 

 But over time, the distance between the

two courses becomes larger and larger.

 

There is nothing you can do to keep

you from making wrong decisions.

 

I have told my family and others…

 

 “I have made a lot of mistakes,

and I am good at it.”

 

Yes, we are all good at making

decisions that alter our course.

 

The shortest distance between

two points is a straight line.

 

Yet no course over a long period

of time goes on a straight line.

 

If you are a boater you know you

are always adjusting your course

because of waves and wind.

 

Whenever you get in your car,

 you have to navigate many turns.

 

Even airplane pilots don’t fly straight lines,

 there are several reasons why,

but the big two are to do with the curvature

of the earth and the jet streams.

  

So staying the course over time,

will take effort.

 

You will never be able to say I know it all.

 

Life is not as simple as it was for Cain and Abel.

 

There are a lot of voices and influences

 we have to deal with that they did not.

 

But in the end what matters is One Voice.

 

Jesus said…

 

 My sheep hear my voice and obey.

 

God loved Cain as well as Abel.
 

God spoke to Cain because He loved him

and warned him of sin at his door step.

 

Cain did not master his thoughts.

 

His thoughts mastered him and…

 

 Hate replaced love.

 

Death replaced life.

 

How do we stay the course?

 

We spend time daily listening for God’s voice.

 

Remember devotional time is love and loyalty.

  

In Psalms 37, we see the course of a life that ends well.

 

Verse 23 tells us why it ends well…

 

If the LORD delights in a man's way,

he makes his steps firm

 

Verse 24 says…

 

Though he stumble, he will not fall,

 for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

 

Staying the course comes as

we bring delight to the Lord.

 

Verse 25 says…

 

 I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

 

Over the test of time you will see

that delighting the Lord will bring

you the greatest reward.

 

Spend devotional time with Him.

 

Be in His Word and in tune with His Spirit

and you will finish your course with eternal life.

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

Psalms 37:23-34 NIV

 

23 If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; 24 though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.

27 Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. 28 For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; 29 the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.

32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives; 33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.