Monday Morning Thoughts

That Satan is a clever guy.

This morning I found out something pretty worrying, and I almost got sick to my stomach worrying about it so much. I mean, this thing is pretty important, but worrying about it isn't going to help a thing.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6:27 and Luke 12:25, (NIV)
(It was so important, this question was in the Bible twice!)

Once I realized this, I turned my attitude around and started praising God instead of getting upset at Him (even though this thing is not something He is responsible for).

James 4:7 says, Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I started to resist the devil. There was no way he was going to rule over my thoughts! Once I started praising God for His blessings, the devil left. He fled. He couldn't bother me anymore because I wasn't giving him that foothold (see Ephesians 4:27).

It's so easy to see why Paul and Silas praised God by singing in prison! (Acts 16:25.) Satan was not able to bother them when their focus was on Christ.

Amazing!

God has been teaching me a lot lately, mostly about worrying and words.

I sin so much in my speech, and it's something I've become immune and almost oblivious to. I am sarcastic and critical. I don't build others up. I tear them down! Sometimes I can say something that isn't necessarily critical or rude, but my tone of voice is not kind and loving. God has been convicting me of this a lot recently.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) --

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Oh dear. Is my speech benefiting those who are hearing it? Not always. Something needs to change.

This is my argument for cussing. I can't stand cussing.

Some people call it a "gray area" but it seems like the Bible is pretty clear on this.

Is it benefiting those who listen? No.

Is it helpful for building them up? No. A lot of people are actually offended by cussing.

Read this:

Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).

Ephesians 4:31 (AMP)

I think we could all agree that cussing is "abusive" and can be put in the "malice" category.

Plus, if we are living our lives to glorify Christ, and we come across a controversial "gray area", don't you think we would want to stay as far away from it as possible? If we don't know whether or not cussing is a sin, and we want to honor God, shouldn't we just stay away from cussing altogether instead of doing something that we're not really sure God approves of?

Just a thought.

And I'm still learning. I need to practice what I preach!

Do you ever get excited about new weeks? I think a lot of people tend to dislike Mondays, because it means another 5 days before the weekends. But I like Mondays. It's a new start, a new 7 days, a new chance for God to teach me something. The weekends are fun and all, but sometimes I feel like I'm wishing my life away by always looking forward to them.

I realized today how close graduation is (less than 16 months) and I got sad again. I tend to get sad when I think about graduation, because I love college so much. I realized that I need to savor every moment that I have here, and look for opportunities to share Christ's love with others while I'm here. Time is precious!

I have never walked under the Century Tree, but I have always wanted to. I think it's such a beautiful tree.

I don't want to be proposed to under it, though. Come on, guys, think of something a little more creative! :) I can understand that it's special because of the tradition the corps has, but still... think of something different.

Class starts pretty soon, so I should probably go collect my printouts and be on my way.

Have a beautiful Monday. Enjoy the day that God has blessed you with!

- Katie