We read the truths God has for us in order to live according to His word. If we don’t put them into practice, we are only hearers. James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.”

1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 2:4 says, “He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him.”

My mom signed me up for piano lessons when I was very young. I wanted to play the piano like she did, but I didn’t like the practice part. We practice truth by embedding it into our mind, will, and emotions through repetition.

When you drive a nail into wood you embed it. James 1:21 says, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your soul.” We emulate Christ’s humility through practice. Romans 13:14.

Blame is an effective weapon that the enemy of our soul uses to trap us. I was thanking the Lord for choosing me before the foundation of the world. I reflected how His love had nothing to do with me. He chose me to be blameless before Him. Ephesians 1:4. 

Insight: blame is an inner accusation against ourselves, others, or our circumstances. Who is the accuser of the brethren? Revelation 12:9-10 says that it is the devil. His power is through deception. 

Let’s turn the kaleidoscope of the word blame just a tiny bit. Here’s another view. We are blameless in the eyes of the Lord. Blameless ~ meaning no blame. When we enter into the fleshly lie of blame, we have forgotten the truth of Ephesian 1:4 and Jude verse 24.

2 Peter 1:9 refers back to the inner graces we are told to add to our faith. It says, “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” 2 Timothy 1:9. We are called with a holy calling.

Dregs speak of dross. Our fiery trials are divinely orchestrated to expose and reveal hidden dross. Hebrews 12:11 reveals that we are to be trained through our trial’s refining process. When we are trained, “…afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness…”

Proverbs 1:32 in the Amplified says, “For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the careless ease of (self-confident) fools shall destroy them.” Isaiah 30:15 says, “…In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. But you would not…”

A complacent heart is unresponsive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It turns a deaf ear to the promptings that would bring course correction. Proverbs 29:1 says, “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

The opposite of complacent is zealous. Zeal is a passionate desire with action. Psalm 69:9 says, “…zeal for Your house has eaten me up…” Jesus demonstrated His passion when He cleansed the temple of money changers. How high is your watermark of zeal for the Lord?

Revelation 3:14-22 was the letter to the Laodicean church. Verse 15-16 says, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. So then, because you are lukewarm…” Lukewarm is a good definition for being complacent. 

Zephaniah 1:12 says that the Lord will, “…punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart…” The literal for settled is: on their lees; like the dregs of wine. The note in my Bible says that when old wine has not been poured off it becomes thick.

Jeremiah 48:11 says, “Moab has been at ease from his youth; he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent has not changed.”

A complacent heart is stagnant. Hebrew 3:13 says that it is, “…hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Thick. At ease. Not changed. The same. Mark 4:17 described it as no root in themselves. Their roots were not deep in the soil of intimate communion with the Lord~not self-feeders.

Matthew 6:31-32 says, “Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear?…For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” Verse 33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Psalm 34:10 says, “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” Our flesh leads our thoughts to things that we then perceive as a lack. 

The Lord calls us to Himself. Let His words break through your times of discouragement, despair, emptiness, or complacency. When we are worn down emotionally, spiritually, or physically, Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Releasing 

Everything

Simply

Trusting

Seeking hearts don’t come for what He can do, but rather to enjoy His Presence. 2 Peter 1:4 says that, “…you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

My computer was in for repairs so I missed several days. They will follow one after the other

I was thinking about Jesus’ question to the mob when they came to arrest Him. John 18:4 says, “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would cone upon Him, went forward and said to them, Whom are you seeking?”

When you feel empty or distraught, who or what do you seek? When Jesus had fasted 40 days and nights, how did the devil tempt Him? He used His hunger. His stomach was empty. Luke 4:3 says, “And the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

The devil will tempt us through whatever we perceive is our lack. Perceive is the operative word. Basing our perception on a fleshly want, opens the door to be drawn in by the enticing lure. Our warning comes from James 1:14. It says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

From there, verse 15 says, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin…” The desire germinates as we dialogue with it instead of fleeing the lusty suggestion.

Note: I was off my computer for a few days as it blitzed out. Back up and running now.

Jeremiah knew the faithfulness of the Lord through personal experience. He turned his depression into praise. Lamentations 22-23 says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.’

Then he made a declaration of adoration. Verse 24 says, “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him.” David made a declaration in Psalm 18:1-2. It says, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Think back to the countless times that the Lord has delivered you through impossible circumstances. Turn those into praise for how He revealed Himself to you. Use them to speak comfort and hope to others in their trials. 

Job never knew that countless folks would gain insight and encouragement through his hard trial. Job 19:23 says, “Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!” Encourage someone today.

Psalm 34:6 says, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” Consider your thoughts when you first fall into a new trial. Then consider your thoughts during a long trial that seems to have no end. We can bring trouble upon ourselves through negative dialogue. 

Negative dialogues against ourselves, others, or our circumstances war against our faith. They reel in our anchor of truth that is designed to keep us steadfast and immovable. Worry divides our minds with preoccupation. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that He has given us sound minds, which means disciplined thought-patterns.

Jeremiah was in dire straits. Lamentations 3:18 were his words of conclusion. It says, “…My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord.” He turned his spirally down into praise. Verse 21 says, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.”

When we allow our thoughts to pull us down, we will become despondent and hopeless. Like Jeremiah, we can raise our spirits by proclaiming truth. Experiential truth sets us free. John 8:32.

I love 2 Timothy 2:13. It says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” When we are faithless, we fall into the temptations of doubt, fear, and unbelief. We lose sight of Who He is at all times.

No matter what our hard trials are, His Presence will be with us in them because He is faithful. I encourage you to gather some verses that will anchor you during those times. They give us barnacle faith to cling to Him, no matter how the storms beat against us tempestuously. In His faithfulness He tempers the storms.

2 Corinthians 10:13 says that in our trials, He will make the way of escape by bringing us through them. Notice the ‘through’ is used three times in Isaiah 42:2. It says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”

He doesn’t take our trials from us ~ He walks with us through them.

It is good to rehearse the stories of God’s deliverance from His word. Here is an interesting verse about God’s judgment. Ezekiel 14:14, 16, 18, and 20 named Noah, Daniel, and Job. Even though these three men were in that time, God would deliver only them because of their righteousness. 

What was significant about their lives? God told Noah that He was going to destroy all flesh and the earth. He instructed Noah to build a boat because He was going to bring a flood. Genesis 6:22 says, “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”

Hebrews 11:7 says of Noah, “By faith…which he condemned the world and because heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

Daniel 1:8 says that he, “…purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…” Daniel 6:3 says that he had an excellent spirit. Daniel was given vision of the end times.

Job went through a hard trial at the hand of satan. Afterwards his losses were restored WHEN he prayed for his miserable comforter friends.