How long will you slumber, O sluggard? It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it


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How long will you slumber, O sluggard? It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it

READ: Proverbs 6:6-11

How long will you slumber, O sluggard? —Proverbs 6:9

While studying the book of Proverbs in my small-group Bible study, our leader suggested that we change the description of a lazy person from a sluggard to a slacker (6:6,9). Ah, now he was speaking my lingo. I immediately started thinking of all the people I consider to be slackers.

Like the men and women who fail to teach and discipline their children. Or that guy who refuses to help around the house. Or those teenagers who neglect their studies and play Internet games day and night.

If we’re honest, we’re all susceptible to this. What about being a “prayer slacker” (1 Thess. 5:17-18), or a “Bible-reading slacker” (Ps. 119:103; 2 Tim. 3:16-17), or a “non-exercising-of-our-spiritual-gift slacker” (Rom. 12:4-8), or a “non-witnessing slacker”? (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

If we are not doing what we know God wants us to do, we are certainly spiritual slackers. In fact, when we refuse to obey God, we are sinning.

Listen to these challenging and convicting words from the book of James: “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (4:17 NLT). Let’s not be spiritual slackers. —Cindy Hess Kasper

When we know what God wants us to do,

But then we refuse to obey,

We’re ignoring the voice of the Lord,

And sinfully choosing our way. —Sper

We may make excuses for not obeying God, but He still calls it disobedience

Walking with God


King James Version of the Bible

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Walking with God

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.

Psalm 143:8, NKJV

Every morning that I’m home, weather permitting, I walk with two friends for two and a half miles. We have to abide by two basic rules when we walk, or we can’t walk together. The first rule is that we must walk at the same pace. The second rule is that we must walk in the same direction. The same two rules apply when walking with God.

To walk at this pace means that we are living our lives in step-by-step obedience to His Word. To walk in the same direction means that we surrender the direction of our lives to Him. The only way we can know His pace and direction is to prayerfully read His Word.

What adjustments do you need to make so you can walk with God? Adjustments in your daily and weekly schedule? Adjustments in your attitude and ambition? Adjustments in your personal habits of prayer and Bible reading? Make sure you are not too busy for daily prayer and Bible reading or you will get out of step and lose your sense of direction.

overcoming spiritual dryness


A study Bible.

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Sin is another reason we feel dry and distant from God. The nation of Judah struggled with both of these problems. They were too busy, and they began to worship pagan gods – knowing all along that the Lord had told them, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7) Yet they ignored His command and suffered for it.

Yielding to sin and being too busy to worship God quickly leads to a divided mind and heart. If we continue along this track, we will begin to spend more and more time doing other things and less time in prayer with the One who loves us the most and died for our sins. Before we know it, we will feel tired, drained of energy, and just plain worn out. This is when Satan’s forces begin to tempt us with sin.

Even in a world of turmoil, God wants to spend time with you. Relationship is at the core of His very being, and He desires your fellowship. How long has it been since someone has told you that he or she wants to be with you – just to talk and listen to what you have to say? God wants to do this for you.

Like our nation today, the nation of Judah was in desperate need of a revival. However, in order for this to happen, the people must express their need for God and, most of all, their desire to know Him in a personal way.

Do you feel spiritually dry? Maybe you have tried unsuccessfully to revive yourself through a home Bible study or an occasional visit to church. Or perhaps you go to church every Sunday, yet you feel dry inside. If this is the case, know that you can experience a personal revival the moment you confess your need to the Lord. His care for you is unconditional. The instant you do this, He will turn on heaven’s shower of refreshment and breathe new life into your heart and soul.

Today’s Scripture Reading
Ezekiel 37:3

How many times do we have to miss God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected.


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How many times do we have to miss God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected.

A married lady was
expecting a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had admired a
beautiful diamond ring in a showroom, and knowing her husband could afford it,
she told him that was all she wanted. As her birthday approached, this lady awaited
signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring.

Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called
her into his study room. Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a
good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautifully –
wrapped gift box.  Curious, the wife
opened the box and found a lovely, leather – bound Bible, with her name
embossed in gold. Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, “With
all your money you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving her
husband for good.

Many years passed and the married lady was very successful
in business. She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful
family, but realized her ex – husband was very old, and thought perhaps she
should go to visit him. She had not seen him for many years.

But before she could make arrangements, she received a
telegram telling her that her ex – husband had passed away, and willed all of
his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately and take care of
things.

When she arrived at   her
ex – husband’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to
search through his important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she
had left it years ago. With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the
pages.  Her ex –husband had carefully
underlined a verse, Matthew 7:11, “And if
you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
shall your Heavenly Father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?”

as she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible. It
had a diamond ring with her name engraved on it, the same diamond ring which
she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birthday, and the
words….”LUV U ALWAYS”…How many times do we have to miss God’s blessings because
they are not packaged as we expected?

Remember, if your gift is not packaged the way you want it,
it’s because it is better packaged the way it is! Always appreciate little
things; they usually lead you to bigger and better things!

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