nov 19

Psalms 45:1-7
1 Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem about the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet.
2 You are the most handsome of all. Gracious words stream from your lips. God himself has blessed you forever.
3 Put on your sword, O mighty warrior! You are so glorious, so majestic!
4 In your majesty, ride out to victory, defending truth, humility, and justice. Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds!
5 Your arrows are sharp, piercing your enemies’ hearts. The nations fall beneath your feet.
6 Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice.
7 You love justice and hate evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.

What would it take to make you happy? See if any of the following that apply: A new bike or car Popularity One or two good friends No more school Fame as a rock star Good looks My own room A boyfriend/girlfriend A nice house A million dollars A trip to Disney World A pet python It would be nice, wouldn't it? After all, who wouldn't want a million dollars? Who doesn't want to get out of school? Who doesn't want to look like some model or movie star? But you know what? Chances are, if you're not happy now, you probably won't be happy when school lets out either. If you're not satisfied with life now, you probably wouldn't be satisfied with a million dollars. Oh, things could get better, that's for sure. Things can always get better. But the path to happiness and satisfaction doesn't involve riches or fame; believe it or not, it involves right choices. David, the psalmist, wrote, "You love what is good and hate what is wrong. Therefore God, your God, has given you more gladness than anyone else" (Psalm 45:7, TLB). That ancient songwriter said that loving what is good and hating what is wrong brings gladness into your life. God gives gladness-happiness-to those who love what's good and hate what's wrong. That doesn't mean you'll never have a rotten day. It doesn't mean you'll never have to sit at home while others are out partying. But it does mean that over the long run (and sometimes even sooner), making right choices will tend to bring more happiness and satisfaction into your life than making wrong choices. It might not be a million dollars, but it's worth a whole lot more.

REFLECT: Do you agree that those who love what is good are usually happier than those who make wrong choices? Why or why not?

PRAY: Have you given God a chance to give you gladness as a result of right choices? If not, ask him to teach you to "love what is good and hate what is wrong" and to show you in the coming days and weeks how your right choices open the way to greater happiness and satisfaction in your life.

I guess today's devo focused more on what we consider happiness?
What do we consider our values? Are they materialistic things or irreplaceable things like family?
Irreplaceable things such as the compassion of God.
At the time, the right choices won't be self satisfying, but I'm sure it'll give us the peace of mind knowing we did the right thing
And in my opinion, happiness is considered something that we have in the long run, not just for the "in the moment" type of thing.

One strong point that got across to me in this devotion was that; if we're not happy with what we have now, how are we entitled to more things to come?

Something that we should learn to display in our character is being responsible, and that really revolves around how you can manage the things you have now, to prove that you can handle other privileges with respect and insight. Since we are born near the twenty first century, we were entitled to a lot more than people who were born 20 what years before us, like our parents and whatnot. But, it's really never too late to prove that we can be responsible with what we have, and that we can prioritize important things for the future, than the less important things for the present.

value and treasure your life now and be happy with the current state you are in. find value and love in the blessing that you have and disregard thge small problmes in your life. if we think about what we have and what we are lucky to not have, we should be happy and treasure the lives that God has given us. there are always something that is worse than your current situation, so just count all fo your blessings and i believe that will fill you up with happiness and find value in life.

What i got from this was that we should be thankful for what we have. You know, we havbe shelter, family, community and other people dont have that.i feel that our church is a blessing because most of us are close and we can rely on each other.
But what the passage was talking about was that we should be happy with what we have or else if we gget more we will want to get even more.The ones who are happy with what they have will always be happy beacuse it doesnt matter to them what they have but to those who always want more will be usually upset because they do not have the thing they want.

Sorry that im posting this today......I had a huge project/presentation that was due today and I think I passed out in the middle of the night

In one of the verses in the bible, It says something like how if you drink from the water of the holy spirit, you will never grow thirsty. Were all humans. We constantly need things. Sometimes, we want more than what we really do need. Bad habits are made when we forget to be thankful for everything God has provided for us. But when you are always faithful and follow him, we will never be thirsty. If we do not have God in our hearts and have selfishness we will never be satisfied with what we have.

~Audrey~

Okay artichokes, here we go!

So, this devo was all about how materialistic pleasures don't last and how we'll only truly be happy if and when we find a way to "love what is good and hate what is bad".
If you rely on objects, for happiness, what will you do when that's gone?
If you make your own happiness, you'll always be able to be happy!

Also, unlike objects, God cannot be lost, destroyed, out of batteries, damaged, etc.
So! If you rely on God for happiness, you'll always be happy (sort of)!

Making wrong decisions doesnt necessarily mean that you cant have fun.
Doing bad things can involve you having fun as well... but i think in the long term it will hurt you more and more as you make wrong decisions.
You can have fun while making the right decisions... cause God will provide. Continue to make right decisions all the time and dont give into sin and temptation because although it may looks fun at the moment, it wont be so fun after.