" Look To Jesus "

It's pretty early, 5:15 a.m. I didn't sleep much, so I made my coffee and grabbed my devotional. Let me share what I read.
                                                           " Look to Jesus "

It's always the Holy Spirit's work to turn out eyes away from self to Jesus. Satan's work is the opposite; he is constantly trying to make us look at ourselves instead of Christ. "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have such a wavering hd on Jesus." All these are thoughts of self. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us we are nothing , but Christ is everything. Remember, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you, it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you, it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, although that is the instrument, it is  Christ's blood and merit. Do not look to your hand that is grasping Christ as to Christ; do not look to your hope but to Jesus, the  source of your hope; do not look to your faith, but to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of your faith. We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers , our deeds, or our feelings; it is what Jesus IS, not what we are , that gives rest to our souls. If we are to overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by " looking to Jesus." Keep your eyes on Him; let His death, His suffering, His merit, His glories, His intercession be fresh upon your mind. When you awaken in the morning look to Him; when you lie down at night look to Him. Do not let your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus, follow hard after Him, and He will never fail you." Charles Spurgeon.

I needed this this morning. I needed to be reminded not to have faith in my actions, prayers or even my faith. I needed to be reminded that no matter how elequent my prayers may be, the prayer itself can do nothing. Only the Source of my prayer can. Only the Maker and Sustainer of my faith can save. What a good reminder. Let's not forget this. With out the Giver of hope, all our efforts are in vain.
May this breath refreshment and renewal into your heart this day as it did mine.

The wise women builds UP.

The wise women builds UP. What does that mean? It means she doesn't TEAR DOWN her husband, her children, her home, her life or her God. Being wise can be hard now a days. So many women wallow in self-pity. Complaining about their husbands, children, homes, and circumstances. They focus on all the negative they see.  They have forgotten that all this is a gift. They have taken their eyes off their blessings and become discontent.
I read this one day, "When we gripe and murmur in our homes, God hears it. He doesn't hear it as a gripe against your husband, your children, your circumstances, the home you live in, or your seeming lack of provisions, but He hears it as a complaint against Him. He sees that you do not trust Him. You can always find things to complain about, but you can also find things to be grateful about, too. Life is all in how you look at it. You will enjoy it if you are filled with gratitude and thankfulness. You will be miserable if you groan and complain. You choose!"  We need to keep our eyes focused on what the Lord has given us and build them all up.

How can we build up? We can encourage and be tender to our husbands. We can choose to not say any bad or negative thing about him to anyone. ( This includes to ourselves). We can encourage and be tender to our children. We can speak words of life by acknowledging the good they are doing and praise them for it. A wise women speaks wisdom and kindness.

Here's a great challenge I came across, " Do you think your ready to try and "uncomplaining" day? each time you start to moan about something, try praising instead. Instead of complaining about the weakness in your children, encourage them. Instead of moaning about all the negative you see in your husband, think of the good things about him-and tell him! Instead of groaning that you can't pay the bills, thank the Lord for His provisions."

Let's be wise women. Let's look well to the ways of our families and others. Let's practice words of wisdom, kindness, grace and truth. Let's build UP.