life – herbcotton.org

A Talk Every Parent Needs to Have With Their Children

Text:

Proverbs 4:10-15 (HCSB)

10 Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years.

11 I am teaching you the way of wisdom; I am guiding you on straight paths.

12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered; when you run, you will not stumble.

13 Hold on to instruction; don’t let go. Guard it, for it is your life.

14 Don’t set foot on the path of the wicked; don’t proceed in the way of evil ones.

15 Avoid it; don’t travel on it. Turn away from it, and pass it by.

Observation:

The loving and wise person encourages their children to hear the Word and find wisdom.

I invite you to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, as he imparts the wisdom that God gave to him in the wise sayings of the Proverbs.

There are benefits, and consequences that result from the choices we make in life. The choices you make matter. Every step you take leads to a destination.

If you have wisdom, you will have protection.

Proverbs 4:6 (HCSB)

6 Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you.

If you have wisdom, you will have promotion.

Proverbs 4:8-9 (HCSB)

8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.

9 She will place a garland of grace on your head; she will give you a crown of beauty.”

In a dark world you will have a bright and shinning light to guide you when you walk in obedience, and righteousness. Are you walking in the light?

Proverbs 4:18 (HCSB)

18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

Are you walking on the straight path that leads to faith, hope, and love; the things that are eternal, and money cannot buy? Learn and listen to the voice of wisdom from the wise.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, help us to live wisely, walk worthily, and to choose the way of wisdom. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

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What Gives You the Most Satisifaction?

Text:

Psalm 119:107 (ESV)

107 I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word!

Observation:

I considered taking a break from writing for publication today. But, the Lord had a better plan.

I love my life, and I view it as a gift from God. I love the Lord because He loved me first.

I am so thankful that the Lord led me to this verse early this morning. It was a very timely, and uplifting message for me; it met a need in my life; it was life giving, inspiring, and gave me just what I needed in this season of my life.

These words will stay with me for a long time, “Give me life, O LORD, according to your word”. There is power in the Word.

As I reflect upon these words, I was reminded of the importance of relationships. I value relationships above riches. There is nothing more precious to me.

However, I am also reminded daily of the difficulty of having close, and meaningful relationships. The psalmist reflected this in his words, “I am severely afflicted”.

What I have found to be true in my life is that the Lord, and His Word gives me life, it gives me power to live, and overcome any afflictions I will face in life and death.

Today, and everyday, I am grateful to God for the life He has given me. I am so blessed by the presence, plan, provisions, protection, peace, and power of God, which are the gifts that I receive daily from the Lord. God gives daily bread to His people.

I will be eternally grateful for the gift of faith that is the key that gives me access to my creator, my redeemer, and my best friend. I am so blessed to be able to talk to God, and to talk to you; my family and friends, about the one who is the source of life, and who gives His children the resources to live the abundant life.

This is my story, and I love to share it with others. I am so grateful for having God in my life; for the faith that enables me to be in a relationship with Him, and to please Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Prayer:

Father, I exalt Your name, and give You praise, honor, and glory. Father, I am so thankful for the blessing of life, and the provisions that You give to enjoy life now, and forever. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

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The Brevity of Life

Title: How Are You Doing in Living Your Life?

Text:

Job 14:1-2 (KJV)

1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

Observation:

Today, I have the brevity of life on my mind. The world is talking about the death of Muhammad Ali. I am reminded of the death of three people who I knew personally dying the past ten days.

Two of those people lived in my hometown. I attended one memorial service last week, and the second will probably occur this week. I can give witness to the truth of this verse from our text.

Job 14:1 (ESV)

1 “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.

How then shall we live; how shall we walk in the days of our journey through the world? These are words that inform my mind, strengthens my faith, and floods my heart with the peace of God.

Psalm 90:12-17 (ESV)

12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, I am so grateful for Your presence, power, and peace that abides in the hearts of Your people.

Father, we acknowledge that without Your presence in our lives we would be nothing, and could do nothing. Father, draw us closer to You, and keep us there by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Father, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us” . In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

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What Makes You Cry?

Text:

Philippians 3:18-21 (HCSB)

18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things,

20 but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.

Observation:

Yesterday was a day that some tears were shed in my family. However, in this case it was tears of joy for the entrance of a second great grand child into our family.

The house is empty for a brief period of time, and I have a chance to get alone with my heavenly Father.

As I read the focal passage for today I was moved when I read in verse eighteen that the Apostle Paul cried. It got me to thinking about the things that cause us to cry. What caused Paul to cry were the false teachers.

One of the ways you can distinguish between genuine Christ followers, and false teachers is how they view themselves. False teachers have an inflated view of themselves.

Philippians 3:3 (HCSB)

3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—

We are in good company when we shed a tear; especially when is for others. Jesus cried because of the death of a friend.

John 11:35-36 (HCSB)

35 Jesus wept.

36 So the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, I pray that You will give each of us a compassionate heart; a heart that will move us to tears for others. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

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Daily Bread

Title: Whose Eyes Are You Going to Believe?

Text:

Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)
¹³You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. ¹⁵You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. ¹⁶You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Observation:

I will never get over the wonder of God’s love for man. He made us, and knows everything about us. Others may not like us, there are times that we might not even like ourselves, but God loves us and His love is unceasing. He loves us from conception to death; He has a plan for us after death. His love for us is a forever love.

John 3:16 (KJV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Do you believe what others say about you? Do you believe what you say about yourself; sometimes we don’t say kind things about ourselves. Or, do you see yourself as God sees you. As a society we don’t see people as God see them; God sees us as people before we are born. He believes in life after death.

John 11:26 (KJV)
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

There is never a time in our life from conception to our death that we are out of His sight or out of His concern. He knows what He made us of, and He knows the course of life before we live it out. Think about the wonder, and the implications of this passage.

Prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, my maker and my keeper. Father, I pray that the light of Your Word would enlighten our darkened eyes so that we would see people the way that You see them.

Father, I am so glad that we are precious in Your sight before we are born, and that we are precious in Your sight when we die. I am so grateful there is never a time we are out of Your sight.

Father God, I know that You can make the blind to see; Lord, please open our eyes to see human life the way You see it. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Daily Bread

Title: The Giver and Sustainer of Life

Text:

Leviticus 18:5 (HCSB)
⁵Keep My statutes and ordinances; a person will live if he does them. I am Yahweh.

Observation:

When it comes to knowing what is true life; my go to source is the creator of life. The Bible is about life, and how to have it more abundantly. I love to write and share what Jesus has done, and will do in the life of everyone who trust in Him with their whole heart. Let’s see what Jesus did then; and, at the end I will share what He can do now in your life and in my life.

Genesis 1:26-27 (HCSB)
²⁶Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
²⁷So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.

When God speaks I listen, and He speaks to us completely and continuously through His Word and by His Spirit. God’s purpose is to give us life; the only life worth living, it is life that will never die.

John 10:10 (HCSB)
¹⁰A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

John 10:28 (HCSB)
²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand.

Prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I am so thankful for the gift of life; the only life that is worth living. What a blessing and comfort to know that what You give no one is able to take from us. Father, I am so grateful that You sent Your best so that we could be blessed and live in Your presence forever. O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!

Conclusion and Application:

What can Jesus do now? He can supply all of your needs according to His riches is glory. Do you believe this; do you trust His character and His Word? I’m going to do what the chorus of this hymn says today and every day. Life is simple when you trust in Jesus every day.

“Now Christ is the life-giving Spirit;
Now Christ is the living Word too.
The Spirit will flow in our spirit,
The Word will be life to us through—

Praying, reading, praising and
Calling upon His name;
Praying, reading, praising and
Calling upon Him.”

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn.php/ns/103#ixzz2u4MvNJYS

Daily Bread

Title: Pass in Review – – Looking Up

Text:

Proverbs 3:1-8 (HCSB)
¹My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands;
²for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being.
³Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.
⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
⁶think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.
⁷Don’t consider yourself to be wise; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
⁸This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones.

Observation:

This is the season of the year where I take a pause; it’s a time of self-examination and self-evaluation. The place I begin is with the heart because what’s in your heart will determine the course of your life.

Proverbs 4:23 (HCSB)
²³Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

Today’s text has three foundational truths that provide some sound principles for living wisely, and living godly in this world.

1. Have an obedient heart.

Proverbs 3:1 (HCSB)
¹My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands;

2. Have a word filled heart.

Proverbs 3:3 (HCSB)
³Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

3. Have a heart that trust in God.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB)
⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
⁶think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.

Prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I am so thankful for Your presence in my heart and in my life. Lord, help me to lean hard and heavily upon You. Father God, I choose the wisdom of God over the wisdom of man. Lord, I have started with Jesus, and I’m going on through; the finish line is in sight, and I have come too far to turn around now. In the power of Jesus I stand; in His steps I walk. Lo! A spring of joy I see. Amen.

All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! a spring of joy I see,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! a spring of joy I see.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn.php/h/701#ixzz2mygUOSQ1