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Listen while you read: "Hail Thou Once Despised Jesus"1 (Lyrics) |
Philippians 4:8-9 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)
We have a corn broom which I keep in the porch. It is extremely handy for sweeping the walk and floors. Unfortunately, the broom was left standing with its head down and its handle up against the wall on a regular basis, instead of the other way around. Soon, the fibres of the broom began to bend toward one side until it became so bent that it was virtually useless for any kind of sweeping. Upon seeing this, I was annoyed, as it had been an expensive and useful item, and I did not want to have to replace it. As I stood there assessing the situation, the thought came to me of turning the broom the right way up and placing it in a corner so that the bent side was resting flat against the wall, so I did just that. Little by little, day by day, the broom fibres began to straighten out, until one day, much to my delight, I once again had a nice, straight broom to sweep with.
Sometimes, much like my broom, my attitude can also become crooked, especially if I spend a lot of time looking "down" instead of "up". When my thoughts are focused upon the negative instead of the positive, my spirit is deeply affected. My faith begins to bend away from the hope that all things are possible with Christ, and toward discouragement, despair, and cynicism. When my mind spends long enough in this position, my usefulness to myself, others, and Christ is severely impaired. There is, however, a solution to this dilemma, and that is to take the admonition of the apostle Paul seriously and to begin looking up instead of down, to focus my thoughts on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, and whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — to think about such things. And when I do, slowly, but surely, such thinking works its own miracle within my heart. The negative becomes positive. Despair turns to joy. Peace replaces turmoil. And hope once again begins to resonate loudly and clearly within my spirit that all things are indeed possible in and through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Father God, thank You that everything is possible with You. Thank You for the wisdom that You have blessed us with, through Your Word, which has the power to straighten out our lives, that we may be of the most use to ourselves, others, and You. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
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Saturday, September 7, 2024 – In Angola — In June, Sahel Academy had its closing assemblies to celebrate the year and say our farewells. Pray as we said goodbye well even though it was hard: for those who are leaving to look ahead with excitement and those staying to have a renewed sense of purpose amid a changing community. Pray for the graduates to remember their calling and to take their faith back to their families
terminal illness: "Update September 5, 2024: Gisele had the biopsy done yesterday but will not get the results for..." 
Excellent as always, Lynne. Thank you.
Another challenging word Lynne. God bless.
Thanks again, Lynne. Wise words to inspire us.
Thanks for your message. Blessings.
Thanks Lynne, as usual, I really love your picture parables.
You’re amazing to come up with such an interesting devotional.
Keep writing. Thanks
Thank you for this reminder, Lynne. Thinking on the positive, and thanking God for even the smallest blessing, really does work. I always enjoy your devotionals.
Lynne, for the reminder and lesson drawn from a simple corn broom, thank you. I never knew that about storing a broom. Blessings.
How true! Very uplifting and thoughts to ponder.
Keep writing.
Blessings.
Lynne – you come up with the most practical illustrations from everyday life.
I appreciate your devotionals. Keep up the good writing!
Blessings.
Lynne – Thank you for this meaningful word. Being positive is the best medicine to keep us useful for Him. After all, our Lord is with us paying attention to our needs. We can trust Him; He is faithful and true. May God continue to bless you.
Hi Lynne,
This is a great teaching and I was deeply blessed by it Thanks so much.
Bless you in your writing.
Again, I knew immediately that this was a Lynne Phipps Devotional. My dear husband of over 50 years died very recently; as I celebrate our wonderful years together I look up to his heavenly place with God. Bless you and thank you for your truly inspirational Devotionals.
Oh the broom….
I can see myself as that broom.
Thanks be to God for His grace to bring back to shape.
Thank you Lynne!
Love it, Lynne. What an excellent analogy. I can relate – in both instances (a) because I can get bent out of shape and (b) I have a broom that is also bent out of shape. Now I have a remedy that I can try.
Thank you Lynne, for a timely message.
Blessings.
Hi Lynne,
Your submission for today reminds me of a little hymn we sang at school back is the GOOD old days;
“God speaks to us in word and song, In winds that drift the clouds along, above the din of toil and wrong a melody of love,” and in it’s verses all the ways and things God uses to speak to us. You have now added a broom to the list.
God speaks to us in broom bad placed
So that the broom would go to waste
But by putting the poor bent broom up straight Saved the sweeper bearing needless weight.
And I shall be singing that little school hymn all day long. “God speaks to us from far and near, in peace of home and friends most dear, from the dim past and present clear, a melody of love.” is another verse and the others will come back to me later. Now our poor children don’t get to learn songs like that…but for me it gave added enjoyment to your devotional.
Thanks Lynne for this awesome remaindering how easy it is to slip into negative thinking/speech, and the Christian call to keep “the stinking thinking“ [AA term or figure of speech] in check.
Blessings.
Good Afternoon Lynne:
“Are you listening? Do you hear God’s voice? He is speaking to you and me right now. His message is personal, but makes tremendous sense as we listen with faith and trust.” – Words of comfort and challenge, too often we do not listen for the still small voice of God and become bent spiritually, (like your broom), this message makes me realize we must be ready to hear God’s voice stand tall and adhere to His will.