TURNING ENEMIES INTO FRIENDS!

 

Friday, July 31, 2026

 

TURNING ENEMIES INTO FRIENDS!

 

Prov 16:7

7 When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

 

          If a person lives long enough, and is honest with himself and others, he will have a few enemies. This will happen without much effort as opposing opinions and convictions collide. As with most collisions, there is wreckage and debris.

 

          Our proverb does not focus on either opposing party. Instead, it focuses on the Lord. When our ways please God it is amazing how He works in our life to minimize conflict. That is not to say that all who please God will be totally free of conflict for that would require the cooperation of both parties and that rarely happens.

 

          Turning enemies into friends requires forgiveness. Former hurts need not remain as current irritations. A painful past need not remain a painful present. Grace is essential. Forgiveness may not change the offending party but it is the healing ointment for the one injured.

 

Rom 12:18

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

 

Dear Lord, may my ways be pleasing to you and my enemies become friends. AMEN

 

NO GREATER JOY!

 

Thursday, July 30, 2026

 

NO GREATER JOY!

 

3 John 4

4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

 

As a father, grandfather, and pastor, I know the joy that John knew. He refers to himself in verse one as the elder which has a dual meaning. One refers to his position because the word in the Greek is presbuteros and means Sanhedrist or presbyter. It refers to the joy of a pastor when his flock walks in truth. The other meaning is simply “old.” I now own both distinctions so I know the thrill when my children walk in truth whether they be from my loins or my labor.

 

The word walk is the Greek peripateo which means “to tread all around or to walk at large” and the idea is that this person displays a consistent lifestyle. In this case that lifestyle is “in truth.”

 

Can your father or your pastor say this of you? When you “tread all around” do you present a consistent Christian lifestyle?

 

Ps 26:1-3

26 Judge me, O Lord ; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord ; therefore I shall not slide.

2 Examine me, O Lord , and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

 

Lord, when I “tread all around” may others see me walking consistently in the truth. AMEN

 

INFLUENCE!

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

 

INFLUENCE!

 

Matt 5:13-16

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

Salt in those days was impure and mixed with vegetable or mineral substances. Rock salt! When subjected to wind, rain, and sun the salt would lose its saltiness. All that would be left was gravel that was good only for paving pathways. Only the salt that remained “close to the rock” remained salty! (Source: The Land and the Book, vol.ii.pp.43,44)

 

Salt is not food. It only influences the flavor of the food. Salt is also a preservative. That is why Jesus likened His followers to salt. We make the bitter and tasteless world more palatable. For those who will listen, we also invite them into a relationship with God that will preserve them from damnation. We are here to influence others for good.

 

Our government is full of unelected people whose only job is to influence those who make laws and policies. The total number of registered lobbyists in Washington, D.C. is 10,400 and their spending has topped $1.66 Billion – with a “B”. (Source: OpenSecrets.org) Appropriate conclusions can be drawn from this.

 

Unlike the professionals who influence government, believers are to influence others for good. Having received God’s mercy, we then share His mercy with others. We seek to keep our hearts pure that God might be seen in our lives today. We become peacemakers in a troubled world and channels for God's mercy, purity, and peace.

 

Col 4:6

6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

 

Lord, let me lobby and influence others for good today. AMEN