Tag: face

August 27 – Be Wary of Applause

“The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, and each is tested by the praise accorded him.” – Proverbs 27:21 (NASB)

Praise is enjoyable often sought after as a means to shape bolster our self-image and confirm that we have what we desire from others. It is a part of our natural man to desire acclimation and approval from others. Some seek it diligently and strategically and others take it as it comes and do not live for it. No matter, we each find it very difficult to perform before others without doing the self-evaluation on “how we did.” We want to be found worthwhile, capable and proficient to do our assigned tasks. We do not attain excellence every time and sometimes we flop miserably. With our proverb today is another with a similar lesson. Proverbs 27:19; “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man.” Not only do we seek affirmation from our peers and the congregations but we seek it from ourselves. Our hearts reflect what we are. Looking for acceptance and even celebrity status is like spending too much time in front of a mirror fretting over our appearance. The looking glass will only return what we really are just as our heart reveal our true motivations.

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January 9 – No Disgrace, No Shame


“ For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.” Isaiah 50:7 (NASB)

When once we decide that we will no longer fight the efforts of God to help us by attempting to make our life a DIY project, we will find help from the Lord GOD. When we try to do it ourselves, what happens is that our failures will eventually bring us to shame. It is a shameful thing, a disgraceful action to reject the help of God. If we think we can manage any single small part of our lives we should certainly be ashamed of ourselves because our shame will be known by all when the day of visitation is here. Setting our face like flint means we take a course that we purpose to not waver from. That’s a resolution worth making, don’t you think? Not only Isaiah talked about this, listen now to what the apostle Peter wrote to us. “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”*

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*1 Peter 4:16-17 (ESV)

November 15 – A Time To Turn

“O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”  Psalm 80:3,7, 19 (NASB)

Consider when you find yourself at the end of a blind alley or perhaps the Dead End on a country road. What is our first impulse? We want to get out of there. We’re likely lost unless we intended that as our destination. God’s people were frequently at a dead end and perpetually needed help turning back. Repentance or restoration was a way back. That is the idea the psalmist was writing about in this Psalm. He calls on God three times to “Restore us O God.” He also is asking for God to ‘shine’ His face – that is, show favor so that the outcome would be salvation from their predicament. Israel in the Old Testament, was many times and many situations in this need. We are too, aren’t we? Like this psalmist we need a revival. If truly we seek revival, it comes when we promote the glory of God through our lives and church assemblies. The proper object of our Christian life is God’s glory. The church was made for this purpose, to glorify God; but it is only a revived church that brings glory to his name. Let’s call on our LORD God for this restoration..

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