Christianity Oasis Forum

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January 28
Tuesday


BETTER THAN
PLANNED

READ:
Ephesians 5:15-21
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Giving thanks always
for all things.
__Ephesians 5:20
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Interruptions are nothing new. Rarely does a day go by as planned.

Life is filled with inconveniences. Our plans are constantly thwarted by forces beyond our control. The list is long and ever-changing: Sickness. Conflict. Traffic jams. Forgetfulness. Appliance malfunctions. Rudeness. Laziness. Impatience. Incompetence.

What we cannot see, however, is the other side of inconvenience. We think it has no purpose other than to discourage us, make life more difficult, and thwart our plan. However, inconvenience could be God's way of protecting us from some unseen danger, or it could be an opportunity to demonstrate God's grace and forgiveness. It might be the start of something even better than we had planned. Or it could be a test to see how we respond to adversity. Whatever it is, even though we may not know God's reason, we can be assured of His motive__to make us more like Jesus and to further His kingdom on earth.

To say that God's followers throughout history have been "inconvenienced" would be an understatement. But God had a purpose. Knowing this, we can thank Him, being confident that He is giving us an opportunity to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16,20). __Julie Ackerman Linnk

````````````Lord, so often it's the little things in life that get````````````````
`````````````to me, and there seem to be so many of them.``````````````````
````````````Whenever I'm tempted to lose my temper, blame``````````````````
`````````````someone, or just give up, help me see You.``````````````````````
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What happens to us is not nearly as important
as what God does in us and through us.

****************************Today's Bible Reading __ Ephesians 5:15-21**************************
15 See then that you walk
circumspectly, not as fools
but as wise, 16 redeeming
the time, becaue the days
are evil. 17 Therefore do not
be unwise, but understand
what the will of the Lord is.

18 And do not be drunk with
wine, in which is
dissipation; but be filled
with the Spirt, 19 speaking
to one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the
Lord, 20 giving thanks
always for all things to God
the Father in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ,

21 submitting to one another
in the fear of God.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
In today's passage, after exhorting the believers to "be very careful
(NIV)i n how they live and to be skillful in handling life (v.15), Paul
went deeper by asking them to look at their lives and ask: Who
or what is in control of my life and dictates how I live? Instead of
allowing wine (or anything else) to control one's mind and actions,
believers are to let the Holy Spirit continually fill them so that He
governs how they live (v.18; Prov. 20:1; 23:21, 29-35). A life under
the Spirit's control is characterized by joy, gratitude, and the fear of
the Lord (Eph. 5:19-20).