The drawing related to this post will be available in the reels and more page. Have a blessed weekend.

Reaction, Mindset, Goal, and Accountability

Running the Race to Win and Fighting the Fight for the Knockout Blow

Paul wrote these letters to the Corinthians while he was in Ephesus, which is in present-day Turkey, and the recipients were in Corinth, which is in present-day Greece. Around AD 53-55, he encouraged the Corinthians to live disciplined and purposeful lives, much like athletes who train rigorously to win a prize.

So how does this relate to us today? Let’s dive into the verses as they were written, and then explore their equivalence in today’s modern vernacular.

“But everyone striving controls himself in all things. Then those truly that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. So I run accordingly, as not uncertainly; so I fight, as not beating air; but I buffet my body and lead it captive, lest proclaiming to others I myself might be disapproved.” 1…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗗𝗢𝗠 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗦: 𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗛

Proverbs 15:13 tells us, A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

The passage is self-explanatory, yet a closer look reveals valuable lessons.

The first is the contrast between joy and sorrow. In our modern world, people often accept sadness as a justification for withdrawing from their surroundings, believing it will lead to healing. Unfortunately, this isolation can deepen sorrow and break the spirit.

The "joy" mentioned in Proverbs comes from repentance, the turning away from unproductive old ways. Seclusion alone won't bring joy. Reflection and a willingness to change the behaviors that led to isolation are essential.

Overthinking steals joy. When fixated on problems, we lose sight of solutions. Every sigh depletes our energy.

Exposition on the book of Ephesians

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Ephesians 4:1

• Understand your calling, and paths will emerge for you to heed and pursue it. Act in a manner that honors your vocation. Remember, it wasn’t by your will power that you entered this calling; you were summoned to serve the Lord.

• In fulfilling this role, proceed with modesty and without arrogance. Maintain faith even in matters beyond your current understanding, trusting that comprehension will come in time.

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.

One thing that is always present with you is your awareness. Where there is awareness, may you use the right discernment. Knowing where I am is not where I want to be in my life. Considering it is our actions, and our will, which at times usually placed us in such a place. Even then, let your desire be, ‘Lord, help me, hear me.’ When we know the danger of our situation, the honest is our prayer.

To this we pray. In like manner we say:

Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit fails: hide not Thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

Psalm 143:7

Self-help falls short. Embrace self-awareness to understand your situation. Yet, look beyond your condition and will. Trust in the Lord, acknowledging your limitations, and open yourself to divine guidance, support,…

Who are you? Do you truly know yourself? You know your name, but it was given to you by someone else, not of your own choosing. So, who are you really? You have your own thoughts, but can you control them? Are you truly in control?

Pause and look at the time on your wristwatch or device. Do you see the time? Say it out loud. Then, consider your surroundings, whether you’re at home or somewhere else. Look at the time again and pause.

Can you confidently say that you control what will happen around you an hour from now? So, are you really in control as you think you are?

Being aware of the time doesn’t mean you control your destiny. If you’re not in the driver’s seat of life, do you even know where you’re headed? Even now, you can’t hold a perfect thought to ponder this question.…

Study Guide

Does the three "Woes" from Isaiah chapter 5 a call against the world or the believer?

Isaiah 5:20-22

The answer to the question is given in the 25 verse of the same chapter.

How are these "Woes" relatable to today's day and age?

If there is time, this we will discuss in the new group.

As a believer, you are not under a curse.

In the absence of a curse, blessings should be present. However, two factors can delay your blessings as a believer.

Firstly, your actions can cause a delay if they are misguided.

Secondly, if you are aware of others engaging in wrongful actions and fail to warn them, this can also lead to a delay in your blessings.

It is your responsibility to inform individuals of their wrongdoings. If you don’t, their mistakes become your errors, causing a delay in your blessings and subsequently, certain changes in your life.

Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

Psalms 119:117

In our own ways, we shall go as we please, but become weary if we are not supported by the Lord, continually.

Exposition:

The phrase “Hold me up” speaks of the refreshment that comes after an establishment.

Often, when the mind is not established. Consequently, it wanders, and the individual is drained. Which is the absence of being refreshed. However, here is a hope: We read, “I shall be safe.” This speaks of the awareness of that which is right, in its absence.

The Burden of Silence

A Burden Shared is a Burden Halved

At times, the silence burden is not the inner burden we carry within us, but the discomfort we sense in others, those we dearly care about.

In our presence they show not their struggles to us, even though we are close to sense their burden, but for our inability to reach their needs they seem to be so far beyond our reach.

Far away they seem when you know not what to do. But with such a burden concerning others, let us take it to another.

Take it to the Lord in prayer. The time of the initiation of the prayer by faith, to the realization of the answer, is not instantaneous. However, let it be a time of transformation in you.

A location that is seen, in reality or in the mind’s perception, is never instantly arrived. But with transition, like a bridge, time will be the distance worth traveling, for those who learn to wait, and observe before acting.

True Grit is not always the conquering of the wild frontier. But at times the frontier is our emotions that preys on our weaknesses. Patience is the strength that will suffice.

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Regardless of what might have happened yesterday. How you perceive a new day, it will determine and shape how you experience today.

The phrase:

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed."

• It should birth in you the mindset of being grateful. Which is an essential part to start each new day.

The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way. Psalms 25:9

At times, before we learn to make the right judgment, we ought to first learn to be humble.

Even when we find ourselves in a situation with an awareness that another individual is in the wrong toward us. Still, therein you can only make the right and the needful judgment by looking not to your emotions, but trusting the LORD that He will make it right.

As the old saying goes; two wrong cannot make a right.