The acoustics in your life...keep it positive!
Romans 12: 9-19
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[b] says the Lord.
As I reflected on my book and today's topic was enjoying the acoustics around you and garnering positive energy from music, from leaves falling, from the voices you hear around you... I also meshed that with the above daily devotional. In all we do we must be sincere and cling to what is good, gracious, content, and kind in the world. All too often we listen to negativity (the acoustics around us)- usually stemming from news sources about stereotypes of certain groups of people or how this group or that group will lead to the demise of the country. These things need to be tuned out- they're inflammatory and don't lead to peace. They only serve to further incite hatred and all that is not good in the world.
Also, I think a key thing for me to remember as I walk through this life is to speak life into others. While I'm trying to fine tune the acoustics of my life by keeping some people close and pruning others out of my life (with love, of course) I need to remember others are doing the same. My voices, my actions, and my thoughts needs to be aligned to build all people up and never bring them down. Never repay evil for evil. I think this is a problem with our society today. When something bad is done to us our first instinct is to get even and let justice prevail. We need to turn another cheek and show love, not hate. And when I say we I should just say I because I ultimately can't control anyone's thoughts/actions other than my own. God is the only person who should judge and allow justice to prevail. A recent example of this is the killing of Osama bin Laden. Am I glad he can no longer plan terrorist attacks? Yes. Am I glad he's dead/excited he's dead? No. He was someone's husband, someone's father. What we have done is to only further incite and inflame others' hatred.I think everyone needs to read the Bible passage above... if you think Osama is evil, hate him; but we have no right to kill him on the Lord can do that.
So, today walk around and listen to the beauty of the world. Find peace in silence. Speak positivity into others and check the negativity at the door from all sources. :-)
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[b] says the Lord.
As I reflected on my book and today's topic was enjoying the acoustics around you and garnering positive energy from music, from leaves falling, from the voices you hear around you... I also meshed that with the above daily devotional. In all we do we must be sincere and cling to what is good, gracious, content, and kind in the world. All too often we listen to negativity (the acoustics around us)- usually stemming from news sources about stereotypes of certain groups of people or how this group or that group will lead to the demise of the country. These things need to be tuned out- they're inflammatory and don't lead to peace. They only serve to further incite hatred and all that is not good in the world.
Also, I think a key thing for me to remember as I walk through this life is to speak life into others. While I'm trying to fine tune the acoustics of my life by keeping some people close and pruning others out of my life (with love, of course) I need to remember others are doing the same. My voices, my actions, and my thoughts needs to be aligned to build all people up and never bring them down. Never repay evil for evil. I think this is a problem with our society today. When something bad is done to us our first instinct is to get even and let justice prevail. We need to turn another cheek and show love, not hate. And when I say we I should just say I because I ultimately can't control anyone's thoughts/actions other than my own. God is the only person who should judge and allow justice to prevail. A recent example of this is the killing of Osama bin Laden. Am I glad he can no longer plan terrorist attacks? Yes. Am I glad he's dead/excited he's dead? No. He was someone's husband, someone's father. What we have done is to only further incite and inflame others' hatred.I think everyone needs to read the Bible passage above... if you think Osama is evil, hate him; but we have no right to kill him on the Lord can do that.
So, today walk around and listen to the beauty of the world. Find peace in silence. Speak positivity into others and check the negativity at the door from all sources. :-)