O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below.
You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in
wholehearted devotion. – 1 Kings 8:23 (NLT)
Jesus tells us… Wait with Me for a while. There is so much that I want to tell you. I have great plans for you. I have all the details worked out. You are walking along the path I have chosen for you. Just follow Me, and I’ll show you what to do. Sometimes you’ll feel that you aren’t good enough or brave enough to carry out My assignment. But you’re looking at your imperfections. I am looking at My Power—that makes you good enough and brave enough. Sometimes My plan will call for you to stand out from the crowd. Don’t be afraid to be different; it doesn’t matter what other people think.
Jesus concludes… Just stay on the path of Life with Me—trusting Me with all your heart.
1 Kings 8:23; Galatians 5:22-23
Footnotes 1 Kings 8:15-21 For 480 years after Israel’s escape from Egypt, God did not ask his people to build a temple for him. Instead, he emphasized the importance of his presence among them and their need for spiritual leaders. It is easy to think of a building as the focus of God’s presence and power, but God chooses and uses people to do his work. Building or enlarging our place of worship may be necessary, but it should never take priority over developing spiritual leaders.
Passage Galatians 5:22-23 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Footnotes Galatians 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ’s control—we can’t obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his (see John 15:4-5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law—to love God and our neighbors. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you?
Footnotes Galatians 5:23 Because the God who sent the law also sent the Spirit, the by-products of the Spirit-filled life are in perfect harmony with the intent of God’s law. A person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfills the law far better than a person who observes the rituals but has little love in his or her heart.
Jesus Tells us is from the Jesus Calling 365 Devotions for kids.
THE WORLD…we see history
Separating from family issues
We can draw a healthy line, a healthy boundary, between ourselves and our nuclear family. We can separate ourselves from their issues.
Some of us may have family members who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs and who are not in recovery from their addiction.
Some of us may have family members who have unresolved codependency issues.
Family members may be addicted to misery, pain, suffering, martyrdom, and victimization.
We may have family members who have unresolved abuse issues, or unresolved family of origin issues.
We may have family members who are addicted to work, eating, or sex. Our family may be completely enmeshed, or we may have a disconnected family in which the members have little contact.
The WORD…we see Jesus, His Story!
We may be like our family. We may love our family. But we are separate human beings with individual rights and issues.
We do not have to feel guilty about finding happiness and a life that works. And we do not have to take on our family’s issues as our own to be loyal and to show we love them.
Often when we begin taking care of ourselves, family members will reverberate with overt and covert attempts to pull us back into old systems and roles. We do not have to go. Their attempts to pull us back are their issues. Taking care of ourselves and becoming healthy and happy does not mean we do not love them. It means we’re addressing our issues.
We do not have to judge them because they have issues, nor do we have to allow them to do anything they would like to us, just because they are family.
We are free now, free to take care of ourselves with family members. Our freedom starts when we stop denying their issues, and politely, but assertively, hand their stuff back to them, where it belongs, and deal with our own issues.
Daily Meditation.
Today, I will separate myself from family members. I am a separate human being, even though I belong to a unit called a family. I have a right to my own issues, and growth, my family members have a right to their issues and a right to choose where and when they will deal with these issues. I can learn to detach in love from my family members and their issues. I am willing to work through all necessary feelings in order to accomplish this.
Source: Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go. For more information go to the following link https://melodybeattie.com/books/