God speaks today Friday | May 26, 2023

Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. (Psalm 141:4)
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5)
Dr. Roberto Miranda

Consider yourself lest you too be tempted

In a world of change and advancing knowledge, the Church must find a balance between holiness and grace. The call to holiness can be seen as Pharisaic by a skeptical and cynical society. It is a challenge for pastors to present a complex and sophisticated Gospel that does not compromise the teachings of Scripture. The Church must provide a gentle, loving, patient, and merciful posture that acknowledges people's wounds, addictions, and systemic sins. The process of personal transformation takes time, and producing saints overnight is not possible. It helps to have people in authority who are aware of their own process and experiences. The Church must be a place of restoration, mercy, love, patience, and kindness without compromising the call to holiness. The tension between these two things will always exist, and pastors must have the moral courage to express the balance of Christ Jesus in their pastoral treatment in the Church. Read more...


Cross Reference

And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. (Daniel 1:5)
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. (Psalm 119:36)
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. (1 Corinthians 15:33)
That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. (1 Kings 8:58)

Comments:

Francisco Diaz S.: We are immersed in this dark world and full of temptations but we do not sink because Jesus Christ sustains us and saves us.-Let us have faith and we will overcome the world.
Amen Francis! It is true that we are surrounded by temptations, but as Dr. Roberto Miranda rightly says in his devotional, we must consider ourselves so as not to fall into them. We must ask God not to allow our hearts to be inclined to anything bad and not to let us fall into the temptation of practicing impious works with those who do iniquity. And as you well mention, thanks to Jesus Christ we can have the strength to resist temptations and overcome the world. As the verse of Matthew 7:5 says, we must first remove the log from our own eye in order to help our brothers remove the speck from theirs. May God help us to be light in this dark world!
Gustavo Martinez Afanador : Technology is an important part of the development of this world, the Christian must advance with the work of God and show that there is love in us to help others, such as restoring the spiritual life of many, as well as those who come looking for relief to their spiritual life and need a rest in the arms of the Lord. Blessings
Alba Fuentes: Glory to God for meditation, it is edifying to my life, we must not let ourselves be carried away by the current of this world, move away from bad companies, God inclines our hearts to Him every day.
Thank you for sharing your reflection, Alba! It is true, as Dr. Roberto Miranda mentions in his devotional, we must not get carried away by the temptations of the world and separate ourselves from bad companies. We must incline our hearts towards God, asking him to help us resist temptations and be light in this dark world. As you well say, meditating on the Word of God is very edifying for our lives. May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us in our faith. Blessings for you too!
Judith Garavi : Greetings, Balance between holiness and grace, as you mentioned, it is a challenge for leaders today due to all the technological advances, the most important thing is not to be seduced by the lies of the enemy, since he puts the stumbling block, but many times If we have not healed our hearts, let us yield to temptation, forgetting the undeserved gift of grace. Amen

God speaks today Thursday | May 25, 2023
God speaks today Saturday | May 27, 2023